On August 1st, 2019, Yili Group held a transition ceremony in Auckland, New Zealand, announcing that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hong Kong Jinguang Trading Holdings Limited, had officially completed the acquisition of Westland, the second-largest dairy cooperative in New Zealand. Under the leadership of Chairman Pan Gang's “ Share healthy food and lifestyle with everyone" philosophy, Yili's international footprints have been elevated to a higher level, consolidating its position as the leading dairy company in Asia and accelerating the increase of Yili's global influence in the dairy industry.
Transition ceremony between Yili Group and Westland Milk Products was held at the Auckland Museum, and the Maori people performed at the event
Dairy Bridge Across the Pacific Ocean
The latitudes between 40-50° north and south are known as the two largest "Golden Milk Source Belts" in the world. Yili Group, the number one dairy company in Asia, emerged from the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia in the northern hemisphere, while Yili discovered Westland, an excellent and highly potential dairy company, on the west coast of New Zealand of the southern hemisphere.
Westland is the second-largest dairy cooperative in New Zealand, with several products enjoying high international visibility and sold in over 40 countries worldwide. Yili Group announced on March 18th, 2019, that it would acquire 100% equity of Westland Milk Products in New Zealand. During the process of participating in Westland's shareholder roadshow, Yili demonstrated its good corporate image and the ability to lead Westland towards a more powerful future to its shareholders. On July 4th, nearly 96% of dairy farmer shareholders participated in the vote on Yili's acquisition offer, with 93.79% of the votes in favor. After obtaining the approval of the dairy farmer shareholders, this transaction was subsequently approved by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office and the New Zealand High Court.
With the successful acquisition of Westland, Yili has built a "dairy bridge" across the Pacific Ocean, further enhancing its ability to integrate high-quality global resources, providing consumers worldwide with higher quality products, and meeting the diverse needs of consumers.
(From left to right) Jeff Shepherd, Executive Director of the New Zealand-China Trade Association, Mike Arand, Representative of the New Zealand Trade and Development Bureau, Huang Yuefeng, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, Zhang Jianqiu, Executive President of Yili Group, Sun Donghong, Assistant President of Yili Group, and Pete Morrison, former Chairman of Westland at the transition ceremony.
Dairy Silk Road Connecting the World
Yili has opened up a "Dairy Silk Road" that connects the world in its internationalization efforts. This "Dairy Silk Road" accelerates the flow of high-quality resources in the global dairy industry, allowing more and more consumers to enjoy Yili's high-quality products.
In recent years, Yili has actively responded to China's "Belt and Road" initiative and continuously expanded its overseas business, achieving remarkable results in internationalization. In Asia, Yili's products are fully entering the Southeast Asian market, and it has successfully acquired Chomthana, the largest local ice cream manufacturer in Thailand. After the transition with Chomthana, Yili fully played the strategic synergy effect and achieved a production capacity increase of more than 30% for Chomthana within a month of integration. In Europe, Yili has completed the upgrade of its European Innovation Centre and established a cooperative laboratory with Wageningen University, a top university in the field of life sciences in Europe. In the Americas, Yili leads the implementation of the "Sino-US Food Wisdom Valley" and collaborates with many top universities and research institutions in the United States. In Oceania, Yili has invested 3 billion yuan in building one of the world's largest integrated dairy industry bases, the Oceania Dairy Production Base, and established the Oceania Research and Development Center in cooperation with Lincoln University in New Zealand.
New Zealand is an important part of Yili's global operational structure. Since the operation of the Oceania Dairy Production Base for more than 5 years, it has established good relationships with local communities, employees, dairy farmers, and suppliers. In June of this year, the Oceania Dairy Production Base was awarded the Cross-Border Investment Award by the New Zealand-China Trade Association, which is a recognition of Yili's overseas operations.
Yili is committed to becoming the most trustworthy provider of healthy food in the world. The successful acquisition of Westland is a perfect combination of quality, technology, resources, and markets. It is also an important milestone for Yili to accelerate the integration of the dairy industry on the "Dairy Silk Road," opening up a new pattern of sharing health with the world. With the extension of the "Dairy Silk Road," Yili will contribute to the common prosperity of the global dairy industry while achieving its own enterprise vision with Chinese strength.