Shares in dairy maker rise to eight-year high after US$250m deal with Chinese conglomerate Citic
Citic Agricultural Industry Fund Management will become Ausnutria Dairy Corporation’s largest shareholder
Shares in Ausnutria Dairy Corporation rose to their highest level in eight years on Friday, after the company announced that a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned multinational conglomerate Citic will become its single largest shareholder following a transfer of shares.
The Changsha-headquartered goat milk producer said Citic Agricultural Industry Fund Management will spend a total of HK$1.96 billion (US$250 million) as part of the deal.
Ausnutria will issue 249 million new shares to Citic Agricultural, at a price of HK$5.18 per share, for a total cost of about HK$1.29 billion. The price is a 20.67 per cent discount on Wednesday’s closing price of HK$6.53.
In addition, Taizhou Jieda Pharmaceutical said it will transfer 10.35 per cent of its Ausnutria shares, or 130 million shares, to Citic Agricultural for HK$673 million.
Upon completion of the deal, Citic Agricultural will hold 25.18 per cent of joint venture’s issued share capital, and Center Laboratories’ shareholding will decrease from 40.28 per cent to 24.98 per cent, which means it will remain a major shareholder of Ausnutria.
