Nestle in talks to acquire Chinese candy maker Hsu Fu Chi

Nestle (NESN.VTX) is in negotiations to acquire Chinese candy maker Hsu Fu Chi International, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter. Hsu Fu Chi (AS5.SI) has a market value of US$2.6 billion, meaning the potential deal would be one of the largest foreign takeovers of a Chinese company. However, other similar deals in the consumer sector have been blocked or slowed by Chinese regulators under anti-monopoly rules, including Coca-Cola’s (KO.NYSE) US$2.4 billion bid for Huiyuan Juice Group in 2009. Diageo’s (DEO.NYSE, DGE.LSE) bid to buy white-spirit maker Shui Jing Fang took 16 months to win approval from authorities. The UK drink maker’s ultimate success in acquiring Shui Jing Fang may indicate that regulators are becoming more open to such deals. Hsu Fu Chi was founded 19 years ago by the Hsu brothers, who still own significant stakes in the company. It makes chocolate, candy and pastries, which produced a profit of US$93 million in the 12 months ended June 30, 2010.