IDG Capital acquires a controlling stake in the Chinese business of Yoplait, the world's second-largest yogurt brand, for RMB 1.8 billion.
On December 1st, Tiantu Investment released an announcement stating that it plans to sell all of the 45.22% equity stake in Unimilk Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as: Unimilk China) held by its subsidiary to Kunshan Nuoyuan Ruiyuan Management Consulting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as: Kunshan Nuoyuan Ruiyuan) at an intended transaction price of 813 million yuan. Through public information, it can be found that the acquirer of this transaction, Kunshan Nuoyuan Ruiyuan, is actually backed by IDG Capital. It is worth mentioning that the equity stake sold by Tiantu Investment this time is only part of the acquisition by IDG Capital. Some media reports indicate that ultimately, IDG Capital, together with the company's management, acquired all of the equity in Unimilk China at a total transaction price of 1.8 billion yuan, becoming the controlling shareholder and creating another classic case of an investment institution acquiring the Chinese business of a multinational brand.
The Unimilk Co., Ltd. involved in this transaction is the business entity of Yoplait, the world's second-largest yogurt brand, in the Chinese mainland region. The latter has a history of 60 years. In 2019, Tiantu Investment acquired Unimilk China, and now the Chinese business of this global dairy industry leader has changed hands again.
It is reported that after the completion of the transaction, IDG Capital will retain the original management team of Unimilk China to maintain and strengthen the brand's competitiveness and further assist Unimilk China in completing regional expansion and continuous product innovation. At the same time, the company will also leverage IDG Capital's operational experience and efficient decision-making mechanism to improve the overall decision-making and execution efficiency on the basis of providing sufficient operational space for the management.
In addition to the acquisition of Unimilk China, in the consumer sector, IDG Capital acquired a majority stake in the well - known Danish candy brand Lakrids By Bülow this autumn. Previously, it also invested in internationally renowned consumer brands such as Acne Studios, Moncler, Gentle Monster, and Rossignol. Meanwhile, as one of the earliest institutions to conduct equity investment in China, IDG Capital has long accompanied potential brands such as Heytea, Insta360, SHEIN, Tuozhu Technology, Anker Innovations, Ecovacs, Guanxia, and Three Squirrels, helping them develop from the early stage to a large - scale operation. On the other hand, for enterprises with continuous growth value such as Luckin Coffee and Yuanqi Forest, IDG Capital has also continuously paid attention and seized the opportunity to invest.