CK Life Sciences buys Australia's Cheetham Salt for A$150m
Li Ka-shing firm buys Cheetham of Australia for A$150m, giving it a wider geographical coverage and sparking a rally in its shares
The share price of CK Life Sciences Int'l jumped 8.3 per cent to 65 HK cents yesterday after the company bought an Australian salt company for A$150 million (HK$1.22 billion).
CK Life, 74.8 per cent owned by Li Ka-shing and his elder son, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, is engaged in health and agriculture products, and the water business.
CK Life said yesterday it had signed an agreement to fully acquire Cheetham Salt from Australian-listed Ridley Corp. The sale price is lower than the more than A$240 million reported in The Australian newspaper on March 6.
Cheetham is Australia's largest producer and refiner of salt, with business in Indonesia, a joint venture in New Zealand and a sales office in Japan, its website says. Cheetham sells salt in Australia, New Zealand and various parts of Asia, CK Life said.
"The acquisition will deepen the company's agriculture-related business in Australia," it said. "Cheetham is the leading supplier of salt in Australasia. It has significant infrastructure and land which enable it to maintain a strong competitive advantage.
"Cheetham will bring to the company a strong recurrent cash flow, enlarged geographical coverage and product portfolio, a more diverse customer base and growth opportunities in Asian markets."