Dairy Crest has made it to the second round of negotiations to buy Uniq's St Hubert and Le Fleurier brands, possibly for around €300m, according to a report in the UK Telegraph newspaper at the weekend.
If successful, a deal could see Dairy Crest become an important player in the French spreads market and would provide an example of how the UK dairy industry is looking to expand abroad.
Dairy Crest shares soared to their highest levels in 2006 as rumours of a deal with Uniq spread.
The positioning of St Hubert spreads, largely focused on the reduced fat market, compliments Dairy Crest's own portfolio and could reinforce the group's efforts to target consumer health trends within the dairy sector. It is also known to be looking to increase its branded product range.
UK dairy firms have been increasingly encouraged to look abroad for growth in order to make them more competitive on the world stage.
Top processors such as Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman must adopt an "international mindset" instead of satisfying themselves with a comfortable domestic market, said David Curry MP, chairman of industry association Dairy UK, at an industry conference in Warwickshire recently.
