In an April 1 article (http://tinyurl.com/y58cj5ck), the Montreal Gazette said that Saputo Inc.’s CND$1.7-billion offer for U.K.-based Dairy Crest Group plc was accepted by the Dairy Crest's shareholders. The courts still need to approve the deal.

On Feb. 22, Montréal-based Saputo announced it had reached an agreement with Dairy Crest Group on the terms of a cash acquisition by which Saputo would acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued ordinary share capital of Dairy Crest for approximately CDN $1.7 billion. At that time, Saputo said the board of directors of Dairy Crest intended to unanimously recommend to shareholders of Dairy Crest to vote in favor of the transaction.

Dairy Crest is a large dairy company that manufactures and markets cheese, butters, spreads and oils under leading British brands such as Cathedral City, Clover, Country Life and Frylight, as well as value-added dairy ingredients. The company employs approximately 1,100 people in seven locations across the U.K, Saputo noted.