Danone selling Tiger without consent: Wadia

Nusli Wadia, chairman of Britannia, came out with guns blazing against co-promoter and French food giant Danone at the company's annual general meeting, saying that while he was looking for a settlement, he was upset that Danone had, unknown to Britannia, moved to establish the 'Tiger' brand as its own property in 70 countries and had managed to obtain the Tiger registration in 40 countries.

"We are looking at a settlement with the Danone Group and are hoping Danone will sell its 50 per cent stake in Associated Biscuits International Holding (ABIH), which controls Britannia," Wadia told shareholders. The Tiger brand was launched in 1997 and went on to become Britannia's biggest brand. Danone registered the brand in markets in which Britannia was not present.

Danone, which has signed an agreement to sell its biscuits business everywhere except India and Latin America to Kraft, currently sells Tiger in five countries""Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore. The French dairy major, however, was unavailable for comments.

Wadia's tough words were echoed by Vinita Bali, managing director of Britannia. Bali told the media after the AGM: "The board of Britannia was unaware of the move, till recently. When Britannia started exploring international business opportunities, it found that the brand had been appropriated by Groupe Danone in several markets."

Bali added: "Britannia is selling Danone's brand "" Little Hearts "" in India after obtaining Danone's authorisation for it. Danone, though not authorised to sell the Tiger brand elsewhere, usurped the brand's ownership." Britannia was exploring legal options to stop international usage of the Tiger brand by Danone.

After the Britannia board and its intellectual property rights (IPR) committee met in Kolkata to discuss the Danone Group's infringement on the Tiger brand, the company indicated it would keep all options open for an amicable settlement. Durgesh Mehta, chief financial officer of Britannia, merely said: "Britannia would prefer an amicable settlement of the issue. If Danone sells its 50 per cent stake in Associated Biscuit Holdings International which controls Britannia, Britannia would get its Tiger brand back without any further negotiations or complications."

The IPR committee was set up in May 2006 to sort out the Tiger brand rights issue.

The Wadia Group and Danone are also locked in a battle over Danone's acquisition of a stake in a Bangalore-based nutraceuticals company, which the Wadia Group says violates a government guideline prohibiting foreign companies from investing in ventures in the same or allied field as their Indian joint venture partners.