Mead Johnson said to be working with Lazard following takeover interest from European food giants

The Mead Johnson bid tale is back.

Readers who follow Mead Johnson Nutrition, the US-listed baby formula manufacturer, might have grown somewhat weary - and possibly sceptical - about this particular takeover bid story. That's because the tale goes around the market every couple of years but is either denied or just fades away with little activity to back it up.

In fact, it was Neil Hume of the Financial Times/ FT Alphaville who was one of the first reporters to break the original Mead Johnson bid rumour - back in 2009! Here is the link to that article:

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2009/09/29/74586/danone-targets-12bn-mead-johnson-takeover/

And Reuters did a piece in 2014 - here is the link:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mead-johnson-m-a-danone-idUSKCN0I61WM20141017

However, this year I'm taking the story seriously because good sources tell me Mead Johnson has begun working bankers at Lazard following expressions of interest from European rivals Nestle and Danone.

I have also been told Danone has lined up JP Morgan and BNP Paribas for its potential tilt at Mead Johnson. It's not clear which investment bank is advising Nestle.

Now, to be clear some of the information for this article is from RARE-type sources whilst other important bits of the article aren't, so I haven't tagged this story as a "RARE" alert.  

Still, for readers unfamiliar with the RARE, here is the definition:

Market gossip that hasn't been tested through formal journalistic channels (public relations executives, bankers etc). The rumour might be total codswallop but then again there may be something in it, so it's worth airing on Betaville. 

A Mead Johnson spokesperson said:

"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on marketplace speculation or rumour."

Nestle and Danone also declined to comment.