PARIS--Danone SA hasn't decided whether it wants to pursue a takeover of Mead Johnson Nutrition Group, a senior Danone executive said Sunday.
"No decision has been made on what the priorities are in the group's external growth program," said Laurent Sacchi, secretary of Danone's board of directors, who is also an adviser to the company's president, in an e-mailed statement.
Danone is in the middle of an internal review called Danone 2020 aimed at finding ways to boost growth as the French yogurt giant has been struggling with falling sales in some of its key activities.
Separately, Danone has been in talks for several months about the possible sale of its medical nutrition business, the smallest of its four units, people familiar with the matter said. One of the people has also said that Danone has been thinking about whether it should pursue a larger deal or tie-ups in the future.
Reuters reported Friday that Danone had decided it wants to go ahead with a takeover of Mead Johnson. Analysts in the past have speculated that Danone could go after Mead Johnson if it sells its medical nutrition business.
Speculation about Danone's future comes as the maker of Activia yogurt and Evian water has been hit by a series of challenges over the past few years, starting with the effects of the economic crisis in Europe, followed by a food-safety warning in Asia, milk-price inflation and volatile emerging-market currencies.