New Zealand Dairy giant Fonterra has made an initial tender offer to take a 20% stake in infant formula manufacturer Beingmate.
Beingmate is the Chinese company that sells Kerry Group’s infant formula in China.
The move is part of the partnership between Fonterra and Beingmate, which was announced last year, and shares in Beingmate jumped 5.7% after the offer was made.
According to Fonterra, the offer to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange will remain open for 30 days until March 13.
Late last year Kerry Group launched its infant formula brand ‘Green Love’ in China.
The product is sold by the Beingmate company, which is China’s leading retailer of infant formula and nutritional products for young children.
Beingmate is China’s foremost retailer of infant formula and associated nutritional products for children.
Green Love was the first infant milk formula to be wholly developed and manufactured by an Irish business and is sold in China as a premium infant formula product.
According to Beingmate General Manager Mr Huang Tao Chinese consumers recognise the quality of Irish dairy products.
“We will be selling Green Love Plus as a premium product. It has been specifically formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of Chinese babies. This represents an additional selling point in the market.”