Bright Food buys French wine trader

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Bright Food's second high-profile acquisition of the year has sent the company into the French-wine industry, but Chinese companies still have a lot to learn when it comes to outbound investments

Bright Food, one of China's largest food producers, is set to acquire 70% of the Bordeaux wine trader Diva Bordeaux, getting a foothold in the famous French wine-making region. This follows the state-owned enterprise's acquisition of 60% of shares in the UK cereal maker Weetabix from Lion Capital in a deal worth £1.2 billion ($1.8 billion) (see Interview: How Bright Food bought Weetabix).

The sale, for an undisclosed sum, was announced on June 25 and has been processed through Bright Food's subsidiary Shanghai Sugar Cigarette and Wine. Asian markets make up 60% of Diva's sales, with China, the world's biggest importer of Bordeaux wines, accounting for 45%. Previous deals have seen Chinese companies purchase vineyards, but this is the first time a major Chinese company has purchased a wine merchant.

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