C.P. Pokphand, China’s second largest supplier of animal feed products in terms of sales, has agreed to sell an 11.3% stake in its Hong Kong listed animal feed maker to the Carlyle Group, the global investment firm, for US $175 million.
In 2009, C.P. Pokphand recorded sales of $74.24 million and gross profit of $9.5 million from swine, poultry, cattle and fish feed, its fastest-growing segment, following the growing number of fish farms in China.
Active in China since the doors were first opened to foreign investment in the late 1970s, the CP Group, the single largest shareholder of C.K. Pokphand, has 57 feed production facilities in 26 provinces and more than 20,000 exclusive distributors across China.
For Carlyle, who sees “great potential” in China’s agricultural sector, heightened awareness of food safety will underpin the growth in the feed sector, and will purchase 2,271 billion convertible preference shares and will be entitled to additional convertible preference shares for an aggregate price of $175 million.
