China’s Ministry of Commerce has approved global dairy cooperative Fonterra’s bid to buy a 20% stake in Beingmate.
Last September, Beingmate announced that Fonterra would buy the 20% stake for $593m. The partnership aims to create a fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate direct to China’s consumers using Fonterra’s milk pools and manufacturing sites in New Zealand, Australia and Europe.
After the share transfer, Beingmate and Fonterra will build a joint-venture milk powder factory in Victoria, Australia. Beingmate will invest more than $185m in the factory, holding a 51% ownership stake, it said.
Beingmate is based in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, and is the third-biggest Chinese dairy firm in terms of output.
With an annual dairy processing output of 22 billion litres, Fonterra is the world’s largest dairy processor and exporter. In addition to consumer brands such as Mainland cheese and Anchor butter, it is also the world’s largest dairy ingredients supplier to Nestlé and McDonald’s.
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