TOP 10

Acquired By : Dean Foods Price : $ 216 Million

In the early 2000s , Dean Foods still owned WhiteWave Foods and was looking for an organic milk producer to bridge the gap between Dean ’ s conventional milk brands and WhiteWave ’ s plantbased milk alternatives . Horizon Organic fit the bill , and over a period the company purchased

equity until finally in 2004 it bought all remaining shares to own Horizon outright . Horizon Organic caught some flack from the Organic Consumers Association while under Dean Foods ’ management , facing allegations that the company was shirking proper organic standards . Perhaps Dean Foods decided that organic was not worth the extra effort – Horizon followed WhiteWave Foods when the subsidiary spun off in 2013 .

40 November 2014