Alternatively, Mr Riboud could opt for several smaller takeovers, or go for a share buy-back or special dividend.Yet slimmed down to two highly profitable businesses, could Danone itself become a takeover target?
Their combined revenues will put them closer to Air France-KLM, the product of a similar deal in 2004 and Germany's Lufthansa, which has expanded its operations with a series of smaller takeovers of Swiss and Austrian airlines since 2005.
Other options for a smaller takeover and more job cuts were rejected.
With the infamous cross shareholdings among Japanese firms unravelling and return-seeking investors gaining influence, there has long been talk that a similar, if smaller, takeover trend may start in Japan.
In fact, the pace of small bank takeovers has slowed since Dodd-Frank, according to data from SNL Financial.
While Discovery has not made a major acquisition in the UK, aside from a relatively small investment to takeover Betty, the independent producer that makes shows including The Undateables, Zaslav is not afraid to make big bets when the opportunity presents itself.
The clear beneficiaries were the owners of the acquired companies, those of the acquirers hardly gained significantly. Collusion in the mining industry benefited the shareholders of small, poorly performing takeover targets.
Granted, banks like Danske are too small to finance giant takeovers.
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest health insurer in New York, was taken over this year by WellPoint, the largest in the country; Oxford became part of United, the nation's second-largest; GHI and HIP plan to merge; and there have been several takeovers of small insurers by larger ones.
