Hangzhou Wahaha Group, the beverage business owned by the mainland's richest man, is hunting for global acquisitions to build an overseas distribution network as economic growth slows and competition heats up at home.
The company was working with investment banks to identify food and beverage deals in Europe and Australia, said Kelly Zong, head of international business and daughter of billionaire owner Zong Qinghou, It was interested in companies that could help it source raw materials more efficiently and share distribution systems, she said.
In pursuing global deals, closely held Wahaha follows Shanghai-based Bright Food Group, which agreed in May to buy a stake in British cereal maker Weetabix. Wahaha gets almost all its revenue from China, where economic growth is slowing and cost pressures are rising.
"The competition within the food and beverages sector in China remains pretty intense," said Olive Xia, a Shanghai-based analyst at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International. "If Wahaha wants to leapfrog bigger rivals such as Tingyi, Uni-President or Coca-Cola, it may need to rely on making overseas acquisitions."
Wahaha reported a profit of US$1 billion on US$11 billion in sales last year. Its overseas drinks business, which sells tea products in South Korea and Britain, generated about US$20 million of annual sales last year, according to Zong.
By contrast, Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding had 2011 sales of US$7.9 billion. Uni-President China Holdings, which sells both food and drinks, had 2011 sales of US$2.6 billion.
