Food and agriculture-related acquisitions by Chinese buyers reached a record in 2013 with the value of proposed, pending, and completed food and agriculture-related acquisitions reaching $16.9 billion. Most notable was the purchase of Virginia-based pork company Smithfield Foods, Inc. and the latest being the 51% stake bought by China’s Cofco in Noble Group’s agricultural unit for $1.6 billion. In addition, Shanghai’s Bright Food Group Co. is considering buying Israel-based Tnuva after buying 60% of British cereal maker Weetabix Ltd in 2012. As Chinese buyers become increasingly interested in any assets that provide access to food products or the infrastructure to transport them to port, insiders believe that Australia’s biggest beef producer Australian Agricultural, which was valued at $618 million on April 2nd will be a next takeover target as China may need to double beef imports by 2018. China may very likely face regulatory and other hurdles as countries see Chinese corporate takeovers, especially when involving agriculture as a threat to national security. However, China’s drive to gain food security through global acquisitions will be a driving force in investment trends moving forward.
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