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Dec. 26 (NBD) – Food giant Uni-President Enterprises Corporation based in Taiwan, China has entered into an agreement through its wholly-owned subsidiary Kai Yu (BVI) Investment Co Ltd with South Korea's private equity fund Hahn & Co to buy a 74.8 percent stake in South Korean food company Woongjin Foods Co for 229 million U.S. dollars, according to media reports.

A source with Uni-President verified the information to NBD on Tuesday, claiming that the Chinese food company signed the stock purchase contract last Thursday after two months of negotiations and consultations but the deal is still subject to the Fair Trade Commissions of South Korean and China's Taiwan. Uni-president will step up its efforts to invest in South Korea's beverage market based on its existing advantages, the source added.

Through the acquisition, the Taiwanese food producer aims to learn from Woongjin Foods in product development and marketing so as to accelerate the expansion in Asian markets.

NBD noticed that in November this year, Chih-Hsien Lo, chairman and chief strategy officer of Uni-President, pointed out the globalization of Uni-President is a must-do since the consumer product sector is closely related to the size of population and market.

He stated in an interview that Uni-President has been eyeing the South Korean market for a long time, which has a population of only 51 million but is expected to achieve gross national income per capita of over 30,000 U.S. dollars this year.

Lo also noted that overseas investments are made to obtain talents, markets, time and business channels. Uni-President has set up an organization for the collection of information related to overseas investments and it is imperative to make stronger efforts in this regard, he added.

A person-in-charge at Uni-President said to NBD that after the transaction is completed, Woongjin Foods will become a powerful platform for the Chinese food titan's business expansion in Asian markets. Uni-President will not only continue to provide diversified and higher-quality products and services but also actively strengthen its presence in overseas markets with Asia as the core.

Furthermore, the Taiwanese food giant will explore the chocolate market as well as other sweet and snack markets with the help of the expertise and sales network of Daeyoung Foods, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Woongjin Foods and specializes in the production of sweets including chocolates, gums and candies, the above-mentioned person-in-charge disclosed in an interview with NBD.

Email: wenqiao@nbd.com.cn