Danone weans itself from Dumex infant formula brand in China

French dairy giant Danone said Wednesday it had reached a final agreement to sell its Dumex baby-milk business in China, which had been tarnished by bribery claims and a safety scare.

The sale to the Yashili group, a joint venture in which Danone holds a stake, for 150 million euros ($159 million), comes after the French firm earlier this year wrote down the value of Dumex by 398 million euros.

Danone said in a statement that "by bringing the Dumex and Yashili brands closer together, the operation will build a strong local infant milk formula brand platform."

Dumex China was hard hit by a 2013 food safety scare involving its New Zealand supplier Fonterra. The scare, which led the company to recall products, damaged the brand despite later being shown to be unfounded.