Shanghai, April 16 - Groupe Danone still sees talks with its estranged Chinese joint-venture partner, Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., as ongoing despite a report in the Chinese media saying the deadline for the talks had passed, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.
Caijing magazine reported Friday the deadline for the talks, which started late December, had passed without any agreement being reached by the two companies to resolve their long-running disputes.
The person said the deadline referred to in the Caijing report was a "legal suspension deadline," which would allow both parties to resume previously launched lawsuits.
"Despite that, Danone still sees itself as being in the talks," the person said.
The long-running dispute centers around the joint venture's ownership of the Wahaha trademark and Danone's allegations that Zong had been illegally selling products identical to those sold by the companies' joint ventures.
Danone and Zong started "peace talks" in December after the French company lost a ruling by a Chinese arbitration commission in a dispute over whether the Wahaha trademark belonged to the joint venture. Danone said at that time that it would appeal the ruling.
During the recent talks, Danone discussed three options with Wahaha to resolve the disputes, the person added.
The options involve Danone buying Wahaha's stake in the joint venture to wholly own the business, selling its stake in the joint venture to its Chinese counterpart, or allowing the joint venture to merge with rival companies run by Wahaha Chairman Zong Qinghou, the person said.
Wahaha spokesman Shan Qining declined to comment on the status of the talks, but confirmed the three options are being discussed by both parties.
Separately, Chinese state media reported Wednesday that Zong is cooperating with an investigation into alleged tax violations.
Shan didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on local media reports that tax authorities were investigating allegations Zong had evaded a tax bill of nearly CNY300 million (US$42.9 million).
The official Xinhua News Agency said Zong acknowledged the probe.
"I'm actively cooperating with tax authorities," Xinhua quoted Zong as saying Tuesday.