Chinese owner of British cereal maker Weetabix Ltd., said it is seeking acquisitions and has the ability to pay as much as 10 billion yuan ($1.60 billion) for a target.Bright Food is open to buying domestic and overseas companies and it isn’t interested in deals that are “too small” and prefers to work on one acquisition at a time, Chairman Lv Yongjie said in an interview on June 18, without providing further details. The company is also preparing an initial public offering for its Australian unit Manassen Foods, he said.
The Shanghai-based company, which has interests that span food and beverages, farming and retailing, bought Israel’s Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. last month following Weetabix, as rising incomes in China spur demand for consumer goods.
“Chinese food firms seek overseas deals to acquire product research capabilities and better resources,” said Todd Yang, Shenzhen-based analyst at Guosen Securities Co. “Imported foods are also growing in popularity in China and they may also be seeking foreign food brands to address the trend.”
Bright Food, which controls Shanghai-listed Bright Dairy & Food Co., reached a preliminary agreement last month with private-equity firm Apax Partners LLP to buy its 56 per cent in Tnuva for about $960 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The Israeli company is the country’s largest food manufacturer and distributor.
Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd., Tnuva’s second-largest shareholder with 21 per cent, has said it is in talks to sell its holding to the Chinese company.
