MORTON GROVE, ILL. — Fermented dairy manufacturer Lifeway Foods, Inc. continued Jan. 6 to spurn Danone North America PBC’s attempts to take over the kefir maker by acquiring its outstanding shares.

Lifeway’s board of directors, which most recently vetoed a $306.7 million offer in November, rejected a different form of letter from Danone this time.

The letter Danone sent on Dec. 30, 2024, which was filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleged that Lifeway breached a previous stockholder agreement. Danone pointed to Lifeway chief executive officer Julie Smolyansky’s disclosure Dec. 23 that the Lifeway board granted her close to 300,000 new shares of the company’s stock. The Danone letter called the issuance “null, void and of no force and effect,” because Danone did not consent and it owns significant shares (approximately 23% as of its first attempt to acquire Lifeway this past fall) in the company.

Lifeway countered Jan. 6 that the 1999 stockholder agreement in question violates Illinois law and revealed it will pursue “all available remedies” to nullify that agreement.

"Danone is opportunistically determined to push through an inadequate offer, and in the meantime, Lifeway has continued to execute on its strategy and is delivering substantial value for shareholders," Smolyansky said. "In addition, for the full year 2024, Lifeway's net sales are projected to range between $185 million to $186.5 million, compared to $160.1 million in 2023, which demonstrates the efficacy of Lifeway's business strategy and execution.”

The kefir maker also shared that it has posted 21 consecutive quarters of growth, “double-digit year-over-year revenue growth in the third quarter of 2024, and total shareholder returns of 788% and 270% over the past five and three years, respectively” – noting the percentages reflected data measured through Sept. 23, 2024, a day before Danone’s first proposal came through.