* Says deal is key step in development in Morocco
* CEO sees 1 bln eur sales from North African countries (Adds CEO comments from newspaper interview)
PARIS, June 27 (Reuters) – French food group Danone said it is paying 550 million euros ($685.14 million) to take control of Morocco’s top dairy product company, Centrale Laitiere, to broaden its business in the growing North African market.
Danone has raised its 29.2 percent stake, which it held since 2001, to 67 percent by buying part of Moroccan investment fund Societe Nationale d’Investissement’s shareholding.
“The move also confirms the strategic appeal of markets in North Africa for Danone,” Danone said in a statement.
In an interview published on the website of French daily Les Echos, Chief Executive Franck Riboud said North Africa would become the group’s “new frontier” in coming years.
“Grouping together Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, we will generate 1 billion euros of total sales, of which 900 million from fresh dairy products,” Riboud told the newspaper.
In addition to fresh dairy products, Danone plans to sell baby food and medical nutrition products in North Africa, he said.
The acquisition is expected to be finalised by the end of 2012.
Centrale Laitiere is Morocco’s main dairy product company with nearly 60 percent of the market and annual sales of 600 million euros.
The company also operates the country’s largest distribution platform, with 30 storage hubs serving 70,000 retail outlets.
Earlier this month, Danone warned of a hit to profit this year after Spanish consumers switched to cheaper yoghurts and as milk prices rose, causing growth at the Actimel and Activia maker to stall.
The world’s largest yoghurt maker said demand had fallen sharply in Spain and Southern Europe as the euro zone debt crisis deepened. ($1 = 0.8028 euros) (Reporting by Elena Berton; Editing by William Hardy and Matthew Lewis)
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