Temasek, Hopu buy US$213m stake in Chinese dairy maker

SINGAPORE state investor Temasek Holdings and China-focused private equity firm Hopu were among five investors buying a US$213 million stake in Yashili International Holdings Ltd, after parent China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd sold down shares to meet Hong Kong listing requirements.

Temasek, through one of its Mauritius subsidiaries, Hopu and three individual investors agreed to buy 471.13 million shares of Yashili from Mengniu for HK$3.50 (S$0.56) each, putting the total deal at HK$1.65 billion, the dairy companies said in a securities filing on Monday.

Mengniu offered US$1.6 billion in June for all of Yashili, but it received offers for 89.82 per cent of Yashili's stock. That fell just short of a 90 per cent threshold that would have enabled Mengniu to make a "compulsory acquisition" of the remaining shares and delist Yashili from the exchange.

After the buyout offer closed in early August, Mengniu had to sell down its stake in Yashili to ensure the still-listed company met Hong Kong's public float requirements.

Yashili applied for a three-month waiver to comply with the minimum public float of 23.42 per cent in its case.

Yashili shares, which have been suspended since Aug 14, will resume trading on Monday, according to the filing.