Chinese firm acquires majority stake in Weetabix

China's state-owned Bright Food company has taken a controlling interest in Weetabix, as the breakfast cereal gears up for a push in the Far East.

Weetabix: 'dad's day out' by BBH
Weetabix: 'dad's day out' by BBH

Bright Food announced today (4 May) that it had acquired a 60% majority stake in the Weetabix Food Company.

The deal values the Weetabix business at £1.2bn.

As part of the deal, Bright Food has also acquired the Weetabix sister brands, Alpen and Ready Brek.

The Northamptonshire-based company was family-owned until 2004, when it was acquired by Lion Capital.

According to Nielsen, Weetabix is the top-selling cereal brand in the UK.

In 2011, it registered sales of £135.1m, up 10.2% on the year, ahead of Kellogg's Special K with sales of £119.4m.

Lyndon Lea, a partner at Lion Capital, said: "We are excited to continue our journey with the Weetabix brand, which has been an enormously successful investment, as we extend the business into China in partnership with Bright Food."

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