Direct line: 1300 987 995
SHANGHAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - China's Bright Food (Group) Co Ltd said it had agreed to buy Australian dairy company Mundella Foods through its Australian subsidiary, expanding the state-owned conglomerate's overseas reach and boosting its exposure to the growing dairy market.
Manassen Foods, the Australian company that Bright Food bought in 2011, has signed an agreement to buy Western Australia's Mundella, Bright Food spokesman Pan Jianjun said on Tuesday.
The terms of the deal have been decided but the transaction value will be finalised once Mundella's 2013 financial results are available, Pan said.
Interest in Australian dairy assets has grown due to surging sales in Asia of both traditional products such as milk and cheese and for high-tech nutraceuticals and probiotics.
A takeover battle for the country's oldest dairy producer, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Holdings Co
Saputo's A$515 million offer is steadily gathering support as Murray Goulburn's rival A$530 million bid awaits regulatory approval.
Mundella representatives were not immediately available for comment on the Bright Food deal.
Established as a family business in 1974, Mundella produces soft cheese, yoghurt and probiotic yoghurt drinks. It began exporting to Asia in 2010 and has a contract for sour cream with Wesfarmers Ltd's
Bright Food's overseas expansion has seen it buy Manassen, which supplies food brands to Australian retailers, and New Zealand's Synlait Milk Ltd
Bright Food owns four mainland-listed companies including Shanghai Jinfeng Wine Co
(Reporting by David Lin and Kazunori Takada in SHANGHAI, and Maggie Lu Yueyang and Jane Wardell in SYDNEY; Editing by Stephen Coates)
((samuel.shen@thomsonreuters.com)(+86 21 6104 1789)(Reuters Messaging: samuel.shen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: BRIGHTFOOD MUNDELLA/