Japan’s Meiji Holdings is selling its dairy and B2B units in China to Shanghai AustAsia Food.
The deal covers Meiji’s drinking milk and yogurt operations, including full ownership of its production sites in Tianjin and Suzhou.
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Meiji already holds a 15.85% stake in AustAsia Group, the parent company of the buyer.
In a filing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday (21 July), Meiji said it had addressed potential “conflicts of interest”, appointing external experts to ensure the “fairness and transparency” of the deal.
The Tokyo-based food company will retain the intellectual property tied to its yogurt portfolio along with certain brands.
Its manufacturing plant in Guangzhou is also excluded from the sale.
The transaction is valued at up to 320m yuan ($47.2m).
The final sale price will be adjusted based on the net assets of the target companies and other terms specified in the share transfer agreement, Meiji added.
Meiji (China) Investment, the holding company for the businesses being sold, reported a net loss of 1.04bn yuan for the year to December, compared with a loss of 490m yuan a year earlier.
At Meiji Dairies (Tianjin), revenue almost doubled to 131m yuan in 2025, though the unit still posted an operating loss of 50 million yuan.
Meiji Dairies (Suzhou) moved from a 22m yuan operating profit in 2024 to a 100m yuan operating loss in 2025.
Meiji said it will redirect resources toward other parts of its business in China, including chocolate.
The transaction is expected to be finalised by the end of the year.
Meiji also intends to strike a separate trademark licensing agreement with the buyer for a limited range of products over a fixed period.
For the year ended 31 March, Meiji’s group net sales increased 1.7% to Y1.17tn ($7.2bn).
Profit attributable to owners of the parent, however, plunged 31% to Y35.1bn, driven by a impairment losses linked to its China operations.
Meiji offers a range of dairy products like cheese and ice cream alongside milk and yogurt. Its portfolio also features chocolate and gummy confectionery, plus a dedicated pharmaceutical division.
