Fonterra has confirmed the completion of a partial tender for the shares, which was submitted to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on the 12 February.

The New Zealand dairy giant will purchase 192.4m shares in Beingmate at 18 yuan each for 3.5 billion yuan (NZ $754.3m/€527m).

This has worked out as less than the 20% of the original bid because of the drop in the NZ dollar following the Fonterra poison threat. The stake will cost New Zealand co-op 22% more than what the company announced last August.

Fonterra are paying a high price to raise its presence in China’s branded infant formula market, valued at around $18bn in 2014, given that many multinationals are investing heavily and demand expectations are easing.

Fonterra, which is the world’s largest dairy exporter by volume, has already lowered its forecast for Chinese dairy demand, anticipating consumption to increase by 4% annually, from an earlier forecast of 7%.

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Fonterra strengthen infant formula presence in China

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