Wiseman Dairies in takeover talks

The UK’s biggest fresh milk supplier, Robert Wiseman Dairies, is in talks to be bought out by German-owned yoghurt maker Müller Dairy.

Wiseman, which operates seven dairies across the UK and counts the the Co-operative Group, Sainsbury’s and Tesco among its customers, saw its share price rise nearly a third today amid takeover speculation.

The Glasgow-based company confirmed it was in talks for a cash offer with Müller Dairy UK, which is owned by the German-based parent group Theo Müller, but it said there was no certainty of a bid.

Wiseman’s share price has fallen dramatically in the past two years as it has struggled to pass on higher feed and fuel prices to supermarket customers.