Here's How Dairy Giant Dean Foods Curdled Its Own Milk

"I told you so" rings hollow when people stand to lose their jobs. But it’s worth noting that more than a few observers predicted in 2012, when Dallas-based Dean Foods shed its fast-growing organic and soy milk business, that turning the parent into largely a commodity player would hamper chances for growth. Now Dean, once hands down the nation’s largest dairy processor, is looking at “strategic alternatives,” including potentially putting itself on the auction block.Dean, which grew into a multibillion-dollar company largely through a series of acquisitions, said Monday it has “commenced a review to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. These alternatives could include, among others ... the disposition of certain assets, the formation of a joint venture, a strategic business combination, a transaction that results in private ownership or a sale of the company.”