China’s Century-Old Fermented Bean Curd Maker Weighs Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Beijing Capital Agribusiness & Foods Group is exploring a sale of its century-old fermented bean curd brand Beijing Wangzhihe Food Group Co., according to people familiar with the situation.

The state-owned company has approached some major domestic companies and private-equity firms to gauge interest for the business, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions aren’t public. Some potential buyers have so far shown lukewarm interest because of concerns that the brand is losing popularity among young consumers, the people said.

Wangzhihe, with its history dating back to the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century, manufactures and sells fermented bean curd and other seasoning products across China, according to its website. The company also sells its products in more than 20 countries including the U.S., Japan and South Korea. Wangzhihe has about 1 billion yuan ($144 million) in annual sales, the people said.

Fermented bean curd is a Chinese condiment made with fresh tofu, salt, rice wine and other flavorings.

Wangzhihe is majority owned by Beijing Ershang Food Co., which since 2017 has been part of Beijing Capital Agribusiness & Foods. The diversified condiment and prepared food maker is overseen by the Beijing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

China Cinda Asset Management Co. tried in 2018 to sell its 20% stake in Ershang Food for 420 million yuan, The Beijing News reported at the time, citing records on the Shanghai United Asset and Equity Exchange.

Sale deliberations are at a preliminary stage and may not lead to a transaction, the people said. Representatives for Beijing Capital Agribusiness & Foods, Ershang and Wangzhihe didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Vinicy Chan in Hong Kong at vchan91@bloomberg.net;Dong Cao in Beijing at dcao59@bloomberg.net;Steven Yang in Beijing at kyang74@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, David Morris (News)

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With assistance from Bloomberg