Sanyuan and Fosun to acquire St- Hubert healthy-spreads company

30-Jul-2017 - Last updated on 01-Aug-2017 at 01:40 GMT

St- Hubert healthy spreads. Picture: St- Hubert.

Beijing Sanyuan Foods Co. (Sanyuan) and Fosun Group (Fosun) have agreed to jointly acquire Brassica TopCo and PPN Management, the controlling shareholders of St- Hubert.

The healthy food company, established in 1904, sells healthy spreads, plant-based yogurts, drinks and desserts in France and Italy.

St-Hubert Bio

Its products are free of hydrogenated fats, trans-fats and genetically modified ingredients including Omega 3 (St-Hubert Omega 3), organic spread (St-Hubert Bio), and spread with DHA (St-Hubert DHA).

Guo Guangchang, chairman, Fosun, said by acquiring St-Hubert it wants to introduce healthy organic products to its portfolio, expand its product lines, maximize synergies and promote its brand image further.

“This planned acquisition fits in with Sanyuan's industrial positioning as a provider of dairy and healthy food products and would help establish Sanyuan as a Chinese dairy products enterprise supported by global resources," he said.

"It would represent an important and practical step towards China's mixed-ownership reform and we can maximize advantages of both Sanyuan and Fosun to optimize both parties' competitiveness.

“The proposed acquisition introduces healthy and innovative foods into China and is aligned with the government's policy to support and drive technological innovation."

St- Hubert sells over 35,000 tons of healthy spreads a year and has strong R&D capabilities and several patented technologies.

Demand for healthy food

Patrick Cahuzac, CEO, St-Hubert, said market demand for healthy food has grown strongly in recent years and the company has grown with it.

"Over the last five years, St-Hubert has continued to develop in line with our long-term strategy and commitment to developing products that are both tasty and have health benefits,” he added.

“With the help of Fosun and Sanyuan, we are excited by the prospect of further growing our leadership position in France and Italy and accelerating our international expansion, particularly in the Chinese market which has significant potential."

The proposed transaction will be submitted to St Hubert's workers' council and is subject to clearance from relevant competition and regulatory authorities.

Sanyuan was established in Beijing in 1956 and over 60 years has transformed itself from a traditional food processing company to an international dairy company.

Fosun, founded in 1992, creates global ecosystems in health, happiness (tourism and consumer) and wealth (insurance, hive property and investments).