Palm oil firm Golden Agri-Resources has struck a deal to buy Chinese noodle maker Florentina International Holdings (FIH) for CNY976m (US$142.8m).FIH, the food arm of Asia Food & Properties Limited (AFP), makes snack noodles, instant noodles and ice sticks in China.

The company has eight production plants in seven provinces in China and also has a distribution network of sales and liaison offices throughout the country.

Golden Agri-Resources said the proposed acquisition would allow it to leverage on market knowledge, customer base and extensive distribution channels in the food business in China.

“Presently, FIH Group has a significant market share in the snack noodle segment and it has established a strong brand recognition and customer base in the northern, north-western, north-eastern, eastern, central and southern parts of China,” the company said.

It added: “The proposed acquisition will allow Golden Agri-Resources to tap into the wide spread distribution channels of the FIH Group, covering seven provinces, through approximately 26,500 distributors, approximately 4,600 supermarkets and chain stores, as well as approximately 600 hypermarkets.”

The plam oil firm said its current Chinese business would be able to set up refineries, consumer pack oil filling and margarine and shortening factories in some of FIH’s existing production plants or on adjacent land.

The company added that it would be able to find synergies through integration and sharing of human resources.

“Both businesses can derive potential cost savings and have better competitive strength to capture a larger market share in China,” it said.

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