Danone won a partial victory in a commercial dispute with China's Wahaha in a confidential arbitration decision that was handed down the same day the French food giant agreed to settle the matter with its Chinese joint venture partner.
In a ruling seen by the Financial Times, a Swedish arbitration court found that Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, breached confidentiality and non-competition agreements with Danone.
The French company had accused Mr Zong, China's third-richest man, of setting up parallel companies that competed directly with the joint ventures. Danone had battled Mr Zong in dozens of legal jurisdictions since April 2007.