Big deal

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-01-15 09:24

Dairy fund

Taizinai Group, a domestic milk-based drinks manufacturer, announced it has raised a fund of $73 million in a private placement with three of the world's leading investment institutions.

Of the total investment, $40 million is from Actis, $18 million from Morgan Stanley, and $15 million from Goldman Sachs.

The company, located in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, is planning to go public in an overseas stock exchange during July to September. After listing the firm will make a series of merger s and acquisitions, targeting not only domestic players but also overseas manufacturers.

Taizinai hopes to increase revenue from 1.8 billion yuan last year to 10 billion yuan in three years. By 2017, the company hopes its revenue will reach 100 billion yuan.

Beverage buy

Diageo Plc, the world's largest liquor maker, said it has received the Chinese Government's approval to pay 202.9 million yuan for a 43 percent stake in one of the nation's oldest distiller, its first acquisition in China.

The Sichuan Province commercial administration approved Diageo's plan to buy the stake in Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing Co, making it the second-largest shareholder of the distiller, according to Sichuan Swellfun Co, Quanxing's public traded unit.

Beverage makers including Diageo, InBev NV and Anheuser-Busch Cos are making acquisitions in China, betting that rising incomes will boost demand for alcohol, Bloomberg News reported. China is set to surpass Japan as the world's second-largest spirits maker by value as sales probably reached $11.4 billion last year, Diageo has said.
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