SAIF Partners, a venture capital fund focused on Asia’s two biggest economies, will buy France-based dairy company Groupe Danone’s stake in China’s largest fruit juice maker for about $260m.
Newswire Bloomberg said SAIF would buy Danone’s entire 23% stake in China Huiyuan Juice Group for HK$6 ($0.77) per share, less than half the amount US drinks group Coca-Cola offered to pay for the company in March last year before its $2.3bn bid was rejected by the Chinese authorities.
Danone in September sold its 51% stake in Chinese food and beverage maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group after two years of lawsuits with its partner and subsequently said it would avoid joint ventures in the country and to build operations on its own.
The investment would be SAIF’s biggest in China.