Hershey buying Chinese candy maker for $584 million

Hollywood has already been making waves in China, as have fast food chains and other American companies. Now, Hershey, the iconic Pennsylvania-based candy company, is looking to break into China by buying a major Chinese candy maker.

The Dutch unit of the company behind Kisses and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is buying Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Joint Stock Co. for $584 million, reports Bloomberg. The company will pay $498 million of that in cash, and has agreed to take on $86 million in debt. It will take on 80 percent of Shanghai Golden Monkey’s stock, in a first stage that will be finished by early next year. Hershey said that its Dutch unit will then buy up the rest in 2015.

According to USA Today, Shanghai Golden Monkey has continued to grow, reaching $225 million in revenue in 2013. The company has five production plants and has also broken into markets outside of china, including Australia, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Russia and the U.S.

Hershey International president Humberto P. Alfonso said that the move fits their “acquisition criteria.” He praised Shanghai Golden Monkey as a brand with “a strong history of innovation and product quality as evidenced by the outstanding reputation of its core brand, Golden Monkey, which has been nationally recognized as one of China's most iconic brands.”

image: Wikimedia Commons

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