Sanlu to be sold?

NZPA notes media reports from Beijing which say Sanlu, in which Fonterra has a 43% stake may be sold to its rival Sanyuan Food Company:

Sanlu group may be forced into bankruptcy and taken over by Sanyuan, the China Daily reported.

Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy trader, owns 43 percent of Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., but to day told the Wall Street Journal that it hasn’t been approached about selling its stake.

“No one has contacted our people on the board about a purchase,” Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier said.

. . . A  Sanyuan official, who refused to give her name, confirmed to the China Daily the company’s acquisition plans.

Sanyuan has emerged untainted in the recent milk scandal. As a result, its share prices have soared and sales skyrocketed.

This confirms yesterday’s post on Inquiring Mind.