Müller takeover talks with Robert Wiseman Dairies

Robert Wiseman Dairies has today (13 January) confirmed that it is in discussions about a possible takeover by Müller.

The East Kilbride processor, which provides almost a third of the fresh milk consumed in Britain every day, said it was discussing a possible cash offer with the German dairy company.

It is unclear yet whether a formal offer for RWD will be made, but under City rules Müller must either announce a firm intention to make an offer or confirm that it will not do so by 10 February 2012.

The announcement followed a recent rise in RWD’s share price, which stood at 319p at the time of writing, up from a low of 243p at the beginning of December.

RWD employs 4,750 staff and has six major processing dairies in Aberdeen, East Kilbride, Glasgow, Manchester, Droitwich Spa and Bridgwater.

The UK operations of Müller Dairy are based in Shropshire, where around 150 local farmers supply milk for its yogurts business.

The company recently ran in to criticism from its suppliers after cutting the farmgate milk price by 0.5p/litre from 1 February.