Swiss food company Nestlé's $11.85bn deal to acquire Pfizer's infant nutrition business has received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, a move which brings the company closer to completing the acquisition.
Nestlé, which had huge cash reserves, beat out companies such as Groupe Danone and Mead Johnson to seal the agreement in April 2012. The company, however, has to receive approval from anti-trust bodies in several countries in order to complete the acquisition.
The deal, which received approval from the Indian competition authorities, allows Nestlé to strengthen its presence in the Asian baby food market and become a leading baby food producer in the China.
The infant nutrition business, which became a part of Pfizer following its acquisition of Wyeth in 2009, sells baby formula and maternal supplements and owns formula brands such as SMA Gold, S-26 Gold and Promil Gold. The business generates 70% of its sales from emerging markets and has revenues of $2.1bn with an annual growth rate of 8%.
