The investment - $170m from PAG and $55m from Meridian Capital – will support the expansion of Food Union with a specific focus on China, where Food Union is nearing completion of two dairy plants.
Andrey Beskhmelnitsky, global CEO and founder of Food Union Group, said the two Chinese plants should be operational at the beginning of 2018. He added the company has also acquired two ice cream companies in Norway (Isbjorn Is) and Romania (Alpin57Lux).
Food Union Group also has operations in Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Russia and Belarus, and is the largest ice cream manufacturer in the Baltics and Denmark. It exports to more than 25 countries and employs more than 2,500 people.
PAG confident in Food Union Group
PAG, one of Asia’s largest alternative investment firms with capital under management in excess of $16bn, employs more than 380 staff in nine offices across the region. Since its founding in 2002, PAG has invested over $30bn in Asian markets.
Weijian Shan, chairman and CEO of PAG, said he was confident Food Union was ‘uniquely positioned’ to deliver what the Chinese market needs.
Meridian Capital is an international private equity investment group that invests in food and beverage, transportation, real estate and natural resources sectors.