Move over, yogurt. Kefir is here.
Lifeway Foods — the leading US supplier of the “smoothie-like probiotic drink” in dairy cases — is talking to investment bankers about a possible sale, The Post has learned.
Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky, 39, has been expanding the Illinois-based company founded by her father in 1986. Her family controls more than 40 percent of the shares.
The company, which has entered the UK and Canada, aired its first national TV spot during the Golden Globes to tout the health benefits of fermented milk and has launched smaller, single-serve sizes in Target.
“Probiotics are becoming more understood,” said Greg Wank, a partner at Anchin, Block & Anchin, which advises consumer food companies. “But a lot more consumer education has to be done.”
The most logical suitor is French food giant Danone, which has held a 20 percent stake in Lifeway since 1999. But Danone isn’t interested, said a source.
Under an existing agreement, Danone has the right to match any offer for Lifeway but can’t stop a sale, regulatory filings show.
“We haven’t expressed any interest in divesting or increasing our stake,” a Danone spokesman said.
Lifeway’s sales rose 25 percent to $17.6 million in the three months ended Sept. 30. But net income fell by roughly half, to $2.8 million, during the same period on higher costs.
A Lifeway spokesman declined to comment on a potential sale: “Lifeway is executing on an exciting strategic growth plan that has been articulated in a variety of ways over the last few weeks,” he said.
With a $310 million market cap, the company is trading at a rich multiple of more than 40 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Shares closed at $18.98 on Friday.