Beingmate announced it has entered into a joint venture with Korea’s Maeli Dairies, forming Hangzhou Beingmate Maeli Food Company. The new entity will produce highly specialized infant formula formulated for premature or low-birth-weight infants, those with acid metabolism disorders, or lactose intolerance, to be sold on the Chinese market.

 

The new venture will also produce mainstream infant formula, milk powder, and maternal nutritional products.

 

Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Beingmate will contribute US$566,000 in exchange for a 60% stake, while Maeli Dairies will contribute US$377,000 in exchange for the remaining 40%.

 

This is not the only joint venture that Beingmate is currently focusing on. In March of this year, Fonterra acquired an 18.82% stake in Beingmate for approximately US$553 million, advancing the two company’s global partnership to its ‘next phase’, entailing the establishment of an Australia-based infant formula joint venture.

 

The Fonterra-Beingmate joint venture plans to buy a Fonterra plant in Darnum Australia for A$39.2 million (US$28 million), from where infant formula and milk powder will be shipped to China and where Beingmate will serve as the exclusive distributor of Fonterra’s Anmum brand infant formula.

 

Overall, Fonterra and Beingmate plan to invest a total of A$200 million (US$142.6 million) into the Darnum plant, with Beingmate announcing at the end of October that its board approved an investment of A$82 million (US$58.5 million) into its Fonterra joint venture.