China’s largest beverage maker, Wahaha, has expressed interest in acquiring Sanlu, the dairy company at the center of recent industry-wide tainted-milk scandals, the Wall Street Journal reported. A Wahaha spokesman confirmed that company chairman Zong Qinghou was considering buying out the Hebei-based dairy firm, which Zong told state media would save Wahaha from having to import 150,000 tons of milk powder each year. China’s dairy sector is expected to face consolidation after milk and milk formula containing the chemical melamine made tens of thousands of children ill. Sanlu is currently 43% owned by New Zealand-based Fonterra. Recent government inspections of liquid dairy products found that they met new limits on melamine levels.
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