Lifeway Foods downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Noble Capital

Noble Capital downgraded Lifeway Foods (LWAY) to Market Perform from Outperform with a $25 price target. Yesterday after the market close, Danone North America (DANOY) disclosed that it proposed to acquire Lifeway for $25 per share in cash, valuing the entire company at approximately $380M and matching the firm’s price target on the shares. Given the ownership structure of Lifeway, with Danone owning 23.4%, Edward and Ludmila Smolyansky holding about 29%, and Julie Smolyansky at about 17%, the firm views it as unlikely Lifeway will attract other bidders, adding that given past statements, the firm would expect Edward and Ludmila to “welcome the Danone proposal.”