Yakult Declines After Danone's $1.8 Billion Share Sale Plan

Yakult Honsha Co. shares fell the most in 19 months after Danone, the world’s largest yogurt maker, announced plans to sell about $1.8 billion of the Japanese company’s stock amid pressure from an activist investor to boost returns.

Yakult will offer as many as 24.6 million shares held by Danone, including over-allotment, in a secondary sale, the Japanese company said. The shares are valued at 195.3 billion yen ($1.8 billion) based on Yakult’s closing price on Wednesday. While the move will cut the French company’s stake to about 7 percent, from the 21 percent it has held for more than a decade, it will remain Yakult’s largest shareholder.