DALLAS, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) regularly evaluates options for maximizing shareholder value. As part of that process, the company recently decided to explore a transaction that may result in the sale of the Morningstar business. The company has not yet identified a buyer for Morningstar, but believes the business possesses an attractive portfolio in a growing marketplace and a top-notch management team. The company only intends to sell the Morningstar business if it can do so in a transaction that maximizes shareholder value and helps ensure the future success of the business. 

Morningstar Foods is a leading warehouse delivery dairy business that produces and sells traditional and specialty items, including cultured dairy products, ice cream mixes, coffee creamers, aerosol whipped toppings, traditional and value-added milks, and blended iced beverages to retailers and foodservice providers nationwide.

[Dean Foods ranks No. 1 on the Dairy 100, Dairy Foods' annual ranking of North America's largest dairy processors.]

ABOUT DEAN FOODS

Dean Foods is a leading food and beverage company in the United States and a European leader in branded plant-based foods and beverages. The Company's Fresh Dairy Direct segment is one of the nation's largest processors and direct-to-store distributors of fluid milk marketed under more than 50 local and regional dairy brands and private labels. Fresh Dairy Direct also distributes ice cream, cultured products, juices, teas, bottled water and other products. The WhiteWave-Alpro segment produces and sells an array of branded dairy, plant-based food and beverages, and coffee creamers. WhiteWave brands – including Silk®, Horizon Organic®, International Delight®, and LAND O'LAKES® – are category leaders and consumer favorites. Alpro is the pan-European leader in branded soy food and beverage products with the Alpro® soya and Provamel® brands. Morningstar Foods is a leading warehouse delivery dairy business that produces and sells traditional and specialty items, including cultured dairy products, ice cream mixes, coffee creamers, aerosol whipped toppings, traditional and value-added milks, and blended iced beverages to retailers and foodservice providers nationwide. For more information, visit www.deanfoods.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These "forward-looking" statements include statements relating to, among other things, potential strategic transactions, projected sales, operating income, net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, debt covenant compliance and expected financial performance. There can be no assurance that a transaction will occur. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release. The Company's ability to meet targeted financial and operating results, including targeted cost reductions, sales, operating income, net income and earnings per share depends on a variety of economic, competitive and governmental factors, including raw material availability and costs, the demand for the Company's products, and the Company's ability to access capital under its credit facilities or otherwise, many of which are beyond the Company's control and which are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's ability to profit from its branding initiatives depends on a number of factors including consumer acceptance of the Company's products. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.