never materialised despite the JV being in existence for over 11 years in India. Under the 1995 joint venture agreement, Danone is prohibited from launching food brands within India without the consent of the Wadias. In addition, the partners agreed there would be the right of first refusal to buy out the remaining partner in the event of the other wishing to sell its holding. In June 2006, Wadia claimed Danone had used the Tiger brand to launch biscuits in Bangalore. In May 2007, Nusli Wadia told the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that Danone invested in a Bangalore-based bio nutrition company, Avesthagen, in October 2006 in violation of the government's Press Note 1, 2005, which requires a foreign company to obtain the consent of its Indian joint venture partner before pursuing an independent business in a similar area, including joint ventures based purely on technical collaboration. Danone argued that Press Note 1 did not apply to it as it did not have a formal technology transfer or trademark agreement with Avesthagen, and that its 25% holding in Britannia was indirect. Wadia also filed a case in the Bombay High Court for a breach of a non-competition clause in that connection. The court ordered Danone not to alienate, encumber or sell shares of Avesthagen. In September 2007, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India rejected Danone's claims that it did not need a non-compete waiver from the Wadias to enter into business in India alone. After a prolonged legal battle, Danone agreed to sell its 25.48% stake in Britannia to Leila Lands, which is a Wadia group entity based in Mauritius, and quit this line of business. The deal was valued at $175–200 million. With this buy-out, Wadia holds a majority stake of 50.96%. Intellectual property dispute In a separate dispute from the shareholder matters, the company alleged in 2006 that Danone had violated its intellectual property rights in the Tiger brand by registering and using Tiger in several countries without its consent. Britannia claimed the company found out that Danone had launched the Tiger brand in Indonesia in 1998, and later in Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan and Egypt, when it attempted to register the Tiger trademark in some of these countries in 2004. Whilst it was initially reported in December 2006 that agreement had been reached, it was reported in September 2007 that a solution remained elusive. In the meantime