Bright Food sees bright M&A options

Bright Food Group Co, the Chinese owner of British cereal maker Weetabix Ltd, said it is seeking acquisitions and has the ability to pay as much as 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) for a target.

Bright Food is open to buying domestic and overseas companies and it isn't interested in deals that are "too small" and prefers to work on one acquisition at a time, Chairman Lyu Yongjie said in an interview on June 18, without providing further details. The company is also preparing an initial public offering for its Australian unit Manassen Foods, he said.

Bright Food has joined Chinese companies including WH Group Ltd, Fosun International Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in pursuing assets overseas. The Shanghai-based company, which has interests that span food and beverages, farming and retailing, bought Israel's Tnuva Food Industries Ltd last month following Weetabix, as rising incomes in China spur demand for consumer goods.