Parmalat SpA's (PLT.MI) board has hired Goldman Sachs (GS) to provide a fairness opinion on the EUR3.38 billion takeover bid made by France's Groupe Lactalis SA for the Italian dairy products maker.

Unlisted Lactalis, the biggest in the European sector, is offering EUR2.60 a share for the remaining 71% of Parmalat that it doesn't already own.

When Lactalis made the offer last week, the bid price was at a 21% premium over Parmalat's average share price over the past 12 months.

But it is lower than the EUR2.80 it paid per share for the 15.3% stake jointly held by three foreign funds in March.

"Parmalat specifies that this tender offer has not been requested," read a statement, adding that Parmalat's board had yet to agree with it.

The statement was issued after an extraordinary meeting held by the board of the Italian dairy group Tuesday.

Lactalis last Friday submitted its prospectus for the offer to Italy's market regulator Consob.

The regulator's chairman later told a local newspaper he was pushing for a quick review of the prospectus.

The latest bid by Lactalis has put a stop to efforts by a group of banks and financiers to build a defense for Parmalat amid concerns about the country is losing its industry champions to foreigners.

It also had raised tensions between Italy and France until last week when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he didn't consider the bid hostile.

Parmalat's stock ended the day up 1.3% at EUR2.60 in Milan.

-By Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821 9908; gilles.castonguay@dowjones.com
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