French poultry firm Doux receives takeover bids

French poultry firm Doux, which entered into administration in June 2012 putting the livelihood of over 3,400 workers and 800 farmers at risk, has received 11 takeover bids.

Bidders include co-operative Terrena, agribusiness firm La Financière Turenne La Fayette, poultry producers LDC and Tilly Sabco, and a consortium led by oilseed firm Sofiproteol.

A commercial court in northwest France is set to evaluate the bids at a hearing on 23 July 2012.

The administrators had earlier scheduled the bidding round deadline to 5 July, as part of an effort to save the firm, which has been burdened with a debt of €340m.

La Financière Turenne La Fayette had offered €25m for two plants, Terrena had made bid of €24.7m for three plants, while Tilly-Sabco put forth an offer to take over the export operations of Doux, which include two plants.

However, unions at Doux are unhappy with these offers and noted that the bids would cover only a few sites and would dismantle the company, a concern shared by the French government.

Earlier, Sofiproteol through its subsidiary Glon Sanders led a consortium featuring Terrena, Triskalia, Duc, Tilly-Sabco and LDC to submit a joint bid, and noted that each company involved would gain control over a part of the activities following the acquisition.

However, the composition of the consortium changed, with Terrena Tilly-Sabco and LDC bidding separately, leaving Sofiproteol with Glon Sanders, Duc and Triskalia.

Meanwhile, Doux chairman Charles Doux noted that he plans to make an alternative proposal over the coming days to help continue the company’s operations at least until December 2012.

Doux, which is one of the world’s largest poultry exporters, was put into administration by a court in Quimper after the company suspended payments to its creditors.

The Doux family owns 80% of the company, while BNP Paribas holds a 20% stake.