华彬入股美国椰汁品牌折射中国企业对美投资渴望升级

    Vita Coco位于纽约的母公司All Market周一表示，它正将25%的股份以约1.66亿美元的价格出售给位于北京的华彬集团（Reignwood Group）。华彬集团旗下拥有（与泰国天丝医药合资成立的）红牛维他命饮料有限公司，早在二十年前，这家公司就开始在中国分销红牛饮料。

    中国企业界正在寻求满足该国不断增长的消费者市场，而这笔交易是中国并购美国目标企业热潮的一个最新例证。去年出现了中国公司收购美国公司的最大并购案：双汇国际（Shuanghui International）以71亿美元收购了维吉尼亚州猪肉加工商史密斯菲尔德食品公司（Smithfield Foods）。位于北京的科技集团联想（Lenovo）也一直是美国资产的积极买主，今年早些时候，它宣布了以约29亿美元从谷歌（Google）收购摩托罗拉移动（Motorola Mobility）的交易。联想最近还获得了中国监管机构的批准，继续推进以23亿美元收购IBM旗下电脑服务器业务的计划。

    华彬集团收购Vita Coco股份的交易对2004年创立的All Market估值为6.65亿美元。这项交易将使华彬集团有权从明年开始在中国这个世界第二大经济体营销Vita Coco椰汁。

    这家中国公司准备扩大它提供的饮料数量，将Vita Coco这个新潮产品推向这个世界人口最多的国家，借此挺进不断壮大的椰汁市场。据《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）报道，在近10年的时间里，Vita Coco已发展成为美国约40%椰汁市场的掌控者，去年销售额达到了5亿美元左右。这家饮料公司目前已经获得了包括蕾哈娜和麦当娜等明星投资者的帮助。

    Vita Coco联合创始人兼CEO迈克尔•科班在这项交易的声明中指出，公司在欧洲和日本等美国之外的市场都获得了增长。科班说：“我们预计中国市场也会遵循这个趋势。”

    去年，可口可乐（Coca-Cola）取得了美国第二大椰汁销售商Zico的控制权。这家饮料巨头获得了Zico的全部掌控权，但并没有透露具体的金额。而早在5年前，它就已经支付了1,500万美元来换取Zico的少数股权。与此同时，百事（Pepsi）拥有椰汁公司O.N.E.的多数股权。（财富中文网）

更正：本文早先出现了一处错误。华彬集团旗下运营着红牛维他命饮料有限公司，该公司为与泰国天丝医药在中国的合资公司。特此于2015年11月2日更正。

    Vita Coco’s New York-based parent company, All Market, said Monday it is selling a 25% stake for roughly $166 million to Beijing-based Reignwood Group. Reignwood is the owner (in a joint venture with T.C. Pharmaceuticals) to Red Bull China, which began distributing the Red Bull energy drink in China company two decades ago.

    The deal is the latest example of China’s M&A boomgobbling up U.S.-based targets, as companies there look to meet the demands of the country’s ever-expanding consumer market. Last year saw the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer with Shuanghui International’s $7.1 billion purchase of Virginia-based pork producer Smithfield Foods. Beijing-based tech outfit Lenovo has also been an active shopper in the U.S., having announced its deal to buy Motorola Mobility from Google GOOG for about $2.9 billion earlier this year. Lenovo also recently got approval from Chinese regulators to move ahead with its planned $2.3 billion acquisition of IBM’s IBM computer servers business.

    Red Bull China’s Vita Coco stake purchase values All Market, founded in 2004, at $665 million. The deal gives Red Bull China the right to market Vita Coco in the world’s second largest economy starting next year.

    The Chinese company is looking to expand its drink offerings and tap into the growing market for coconut water by bringing the trendy product to the world’s largest population. In roughly a decade, Vita Coco has grown to control about 40% of the U.S. market for coconut water, which saw sales around $500 million last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. The drink company has enlisted the help of several celebrity investors, including Rihanna and Madonna.

    In the deal announcement, Vita Coco co-founder and CEO Michael Kirban noted his company’s growth in markets outside the U.S., including in Europe and Japan. “We expect China to follow suit,” Kirban said.

    Last year, Coca-Cola KO took control of the country’s second-largest coconut water seller, Zico. The beverage giant paid an undisclosed amount for full control of Zico after having paid $15 million for a minority stake five years ago. Meanwhile, Pepsi PEP owns a majority stake in coconut water company O.N.E.

The original version of this story contained an error. Reignwood Group runs Red Bull China as a joint venture with T.C. Pharmaceuticals. Corrected Nov. 2, 2015.