Following the declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Dean Foods Company, a cooperative, Dairy Farmers of American Inc. (DFA) offered to purchase assets and to continue operation of the company to the benefit of their shareholders.

In papers filed last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, the parties agreed to terminate the original asset purchase agreement involving a transaction of $425 million covering 44 plants and installations.

Dean Foods has now requested a different bid procedure to maximize the value of assets for the benefit of creditors, but also to preserve markets that will ultimately benefit shareholders of DFA.

Anne Divjak, Vice President, Government Relations and External Communications for Dean Foods Company stated "we believe that by avoiding unnecessary litigation regarding procedures and bid protections for DFA, all parties involved including DFA will focus on developing competitive and value-maximizing bids."

Monica Massey, Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff for Dean Foods stated "DFA is re-evaluating our options given current circumstances, to bid.  We believe any bid we submit will benefit all dairy farmers as no one has greater interest in preserving milk markets then we do."