Bright Food buys Weetabix, on world M&A list

Bright Food’s purchase of Weetabix ranked seventh in terms of transaction value in mergers and acquisitions in the world’s food and beverage industry, and also the seventh among the 312 announced overseas M&A deals by Chinese enterprises, according to latest statistics of Thomson One. They also showed that this is the largest overseas acquisition ever made by a Chinese food and beverage company, with its transaction value being more than twice of the project ranking second.

Overseas M&A deals by Chinese companies have been rising rapidly as a result of increased foreign exchange reserve and stimulating policy, with the five-year compound annual growth rate reaching 13.3%. As such deals still claim limited shares of world markets and mostly gather in resource-related industries, this acquisition by Bright Food broke the domination of resource-related deals. The Financial Times said, Bright Food has through the deal set an example of China’s overseas M&A strategy by ushering in world-class brand and experience.