Chinese snack and candy maker Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd said Nestle SA is among the parties in talks to buy the company, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Nestle, the world's largest food maker, is assessing a potential bid for Hsu Fu Chi and the two companies have been in talks on a long-term partnership for a few years, spokeswoman Christine Sun was quoted as saying in a telephone interview with BLoomberg Monday. Trading of the company's stock was suspended in Singapore today pending an announcement.
Nestle is looking to China and other emerging markets for faster growth. The company acquired Russia's Ruzskaya Confectionery Factory in 2007 and a 51 percent stake in Turkish chocolate and biscuits maker Dogan & Balaban Gida in December.
Hsu Fu Chi, with a market value of about $2.6 billion, generates all its revenue in China where it sells candies, chocolates and pastries. It needs a partner like Nestle to expand overseas, said Ben Cavender, an analyst with China Market Research in Shanghai.
"They want to go international and they don't have resources, capabilities necessary to do that themselves," Cavender said by telephone. "Having somebody like Nestle who has a really strong international network really helps those brands."
Hsu Fu Chi is also talking to companies in the US, Europe and Japan, Sun said. "Hsu Fu Chi wants to find a partner that will help us to forge a long-lasting brand," Sun said.
Hsu Fu Chi reported 2010 profit rose 31 percent to 602.2 million yuan ($93 million) as sales climbed 14 percent to 4.3 billion yuan, according to Bloomberg data. It sold shares to the public in Singapore in December 2006. The shares have risen 72 percent in the past year, giving the company a market capitalization of S$3.18 billion ($2.6 billion).
The company, founded in 1992 by four brothers from Taiwan, has 45 large-scale production plants and can make more than 700 different types of confectionery products, according to its website. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hsu Chen, the second oldest of the brothers, is the 25th richest man in Taiwan, according to Forbes.
