BEIJING: China’s biggest meat processor is to take a 50 percent stake in New Zealand’s biggest meat cooperative under a deal announced here the other day.
The board of Silver Fern Farms yesterday unanimously recommended an offer of NZ$261 million (US$165 million) from Shanghai Maling Aquarius Group for a 50-50 partnership with the supplier-controlled Silver Fern Farms Co-operative.
The investment was “a genuine game-changing opportunity” that would accelerate the business, specifically in China, said Silver Fern Farms Chairman Rob Hewett.
“The board considered many options for new capital, both locally and internationally, but Shanghai Maling stood out for the enormous opportunities and ongoing benefits for the cooperative, its shareholders and supplying farmers,” Hewett said in a statement
Chief Executive Dean Hamilton said Shanghai Maling, which is 38 percent owned by Bright Food Group, provided a huge opportunity in China, the fastest growing red meat market in the world.
“Shanghai Maling’s integrated supply chain model will allow us to advance our product development and consumer marketing abilities in that market in ways we could not do ourselves, or with any other local or international investor,” Hamilton said.
The deal was subject to shareholder approval, which is expected at a meeting planned for October 16, and is also subject to regulatory approval in China and New Zealand.
