The foreign owners of a leading Chinese food processing company are to consider a sale, emphasising intense interest by private equity funds to exit investments due to strong Asian market performance.

一家领先中国食品加工公司的外国所有者将考虑出售所持股份，突显私人股本基金在亚洲市场表现强劲之际退出投资的强烈意愿。

People close to the situation said China Minzhong, the food company, was delivering annual earnings before tax of about $60m and could be worth more than $700m.

据知情人士表示，闽中有机食品有限公司（下称闽中）税前年利润约为6000万美元，价值可能超过7亿美元。

China Minzhong is majority-owned by the private equity arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Olympus Capital, a US fund. It has appointed JP Morgan to advise on a possible sale, say people familiar with the situation. All declined to comment.

闽中的多数股权由新加坡政府投资公司的私人股本部门及美国基金Olympus Capital持有。据知情人士表示，该公司已经聘请摩根大通(JP Morgan)担任这笔可能的交易的顾问。相关各方均拒绝置评。

Minzhong is one of China's big processors of dried, frozen and tinned vegetables, with 70 per cent of sales overseas.

闽中是中国烘干、冷冻与罐装果蔬大型加工商之一，70%的产品销往海外。

Based in Fujian province, it was acquired by the consortium – which includes another Singaporean private equity fund – in a management buy-out in April 2006.

该公司总部设在福建省，于2006年4月被上述银团（包括另一家新加坡私人股本基金）通过管理层收购(MBO)收入囊中。

Minzhong has grown strongly, helped by its reputation as an early mover in China to adopt standards suitable for export markets.

闽中增长强劲，得益于该公司在中国率先采用适合出口市场的标准的名声。

People familiar with the matter said the consortium had discussed selling control to a private equity buyer by a structured deal to list China Minzhong on Singapore's stock exchange. That would allow existing shareholders to keep a minority stake and to benefit from growth.

知情人士表示，该银团曾讨论通过让闽中在新加坡证券交易所上市的结构化交易，将控制权出售给一个私人股本买家。这将使得现有股东保留少数股权，并从增长中受益。

Potential private equity buyers scoffed at the proposed structure. The consortium has fresh plans to pursue a sale.

潜在私人股本买家对这种拟议的结构不以为然。该银团又提出了新的出售计划。

Dealmakers who specialise in Asia's private equity scene said funds regionwide are combing portfolios to monetise assets.

专攻亚洲私人股本领域的交易撮合者表示，亚洲各地的基金正在梳理资产组合，将资产套现。

They said portfolio companies acquired in so-called “vintage” years of 2005 and 2006 could typically deliver up to three-times gains at current market levels. “Private equity funds need to recycle some of their investments to return cash to shareholders – and an asset like China Minzhong is ripe to divest because it was bought before prices took off in 2007 and 2008,” said one dealmaker.

他们表示，在所谓的2005和2006“酿制”年收购的资产组合公司，按照目前的市场水平，一般可获得高达3倍的增值。一名交易撮合者表示：“私人股本基金需要回收它们的一些投资，向股东返还现金——像闽中这样的资产，剥离时机已经成熟，因为它是在2007年和2008年价格飞速上升前购买的。”

Carlyle Group, the US fund, last week sold Kbro, its Taiwanese cable-television operator, to Taiwan Mobile in a cash and shares deal worth $1bn. TPG, another global fund, is preparing a $2bn Australian listing of its Myer department store chain.

美国基金凯雷集团(Carlyle Group)上周通过价值10亿美元的现金加股票交易，将旗下的台湾有线电视运营商凯擘股份(Kbro)出售给了台湾大哥大(Taiwan Mobile)。另一家全球性基金德州太平洋集团(TPG)，正在准备旗下连锁百货商店Myer价值20亿美元的澳大利亚上市。

Wumart Stores – a Chinese supermarket operator in which TPG has a small stake – is in talks to acquire Times, a Hong Kong-listed rival, for about $600m, people close to the matter said.

据知情人士表示，德州太平洋集团持有少数股权的中国超市运营商物美(Wumart Stores)，正就对香港上市竞争对手——时代零售集团有限公司(Times)价值约6亿美元的收购进行谈判。

译者/董琴