Danone North America Public Benefit Corporation entered into Letter of Intent to acquire remaining 76.683002% stake in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NasdaqGM:LWAY) from Julie, Edward and Ludmila Smolyansky for approximately $310 million on September 23, 2024. As of November 15, 2024, the offer per share is revised from $25 to $27 per share. The Transaction would be wholly funded in cash from Danone cash reserves. The transaction is subject to the approval of both Danone and Lifeway's board of directors. The transaction is subject to the negotiation of definitive agreement. The transaction is subject to the due diligence investigation and the antitrust regulations. The transaction was approved by Danone's Board of Directors. As of November 20, 2024, Lifeway Foods announced that its Board of Directors has rejected the revised unsolicited proposal made on November 15, 2024. As of November 26, 2024, Lifeway Foods provided additional information regarding the reasons that its Board of Directors rejected the revised unsolicited proposal.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) acted as financial advisor, Vedder Price P.C. and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP acted as legal advisor and KPMG LLP acted as accountant to Danone North America PBC. Evercore is serving as a financial advisor to Lifeway and Sidley Austin LLP is serving as legal counsel to Lifeway Foods, Inc.

Danone North America Public Benefit Corporation cancelled the acquisition of remaining 76.683002% stake in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NasdaqGM:LWAY) from Edward and Ludmila Smolyansky on November 20, 2024.