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Wiseman family sells dairy business

By Giulia Cambieri

The family behind Britain’s largest fresh milk producer has sold the family business to German dairy giant and fellow family-controlled company Muller in a deal worth £279.5 million (€337.8 million).

In a trading update released on 16 January, Robert Wiseman Dairies said nearly 55% of its shareholders accepted the takeover offer from Muller.

The founding Wiseman family, which controls 35% of the Glasgow-based company, is expected to make more than £98 million from the deal, as the German group agreed to pay £0.39 per share.

“It is heartening to know that the business will become part of another family-owned business,” said Wiseman executive chairman Robert Wiseman Jr.

His father, Robert Sr, established Wiseman Dairies in 1947. Together with his brother Alan, who served as managing director, Robert Jr expanded the family business into a leading market player, producing about a third of the fresh milk consumed in Britain.

Muller, one of Europe’s biggest dairy companies, was founded in 1896 by Ludwig Muller. Famous for its range of yogurts, the company is now run by third-generation Theo Muller, who took over the management of the family business in 1970. In 2010, the company reported sales of around €2.2 billion. 

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