COSCO pays over US$800 million for minority stake in COFCO Fortune

COSCO Shipping Holdings has agreed to acquire a 5.8% stake in COFCO Fortune, a food processing and t…

COSCO Shipping Holdings has agreed to acquire a 5.8% stake in COFCO Fortune, a food processing and transportation subsidiary of the Chinese state agricultural conglomerate COFCO, for US$814 million.

The transaction is part of a COFCO Fortune capital enhancement strategy, according to a recent stock exchange filing by COSCO SHIPPING Holdings.

Meanwhile, COFCO and other parts of the company will maintain a combined 69.8% ownership in COFCO Fortune following the conclusion of the capital raising transaction, down from 89.7% earlier.

COSCO SHIPPING Holdings and COFCO Fortune are expected to explore operations involving resources such as container yards, warehouses, and terminal ports.

Several state-linked companies, including the management council of China's basic pension insurance fund and the asset management arm of China Life Insurance, have also participated in COFCO Fortune's capital increase. Additionally, Houke Fulin, a fund affiliated with private equity company Hopu Investments, seems to have been involved in the move.