OREANDA-NEWS. On June 04, 2007 Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC [NYSE: WBD], a leading Russian producer of healthy food products, announced an increase in its shareholding in Obninsk Dairy Factory OJSC to 96,45% of its charter capital from the previous level of 66,33%. The factory is the largest milk-processing enterprise in Russia’s Kaluga region. The move is in line with Wimm-Bill-Dann’s strategy of acquiring successful, market-leading companies, reported the press-centre of  Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC.

About the Company: Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC was founded in 1992 and is the largest manufacturer of dairy products and a leading producer of juices and beverages in Russia and the CIS. The company produces dairy products (main brands include: Domik v Derevne, Neo, 2Bio, 33 Korovy, Chudo and more), juices (J7, Lubimy Sad, 100% Gold), Essentuki mineral water and Agusha baby food. The company has 36 manufacturing facilities in Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan with 21,000 employees. In 2005, Wimm-Bill-Dann became the first Russian dairy producer to receive approval from the European Commission to export its products into the European Union.

On May 18, 2006, Standard & Poor’s Governance Services announced the upgrade of WBD’s Corporate Governance Score (CGS) from 7 to 7+ (from 7,3 and 7,7 accordingly on the Russian national scale), which makes the Company’s score the highest rating in Russia. The increase in the score reflects the effective work of the Board of Directors and, in particular, the real influence of independent directors in the decision-making process and the adherence of the controlling shareholders to the highest standards of corporate governance.