THIS AUGUST Andrew Cohen, boss of Bellamy's Organic, an Australian maker of infant formula, enthused to investors about having a brand "that's loved in China". So loved, in fact, that a few weeks later Mengniu Dairy, China's second-biggest producer of milk products, said it wanted to buy Bellamy's for A$1.5bn ($1bn). On December 5th its shareholders voted in favour of the deal. At first Bellamy's seemed to be milking it, not Mengniu. An Australian government committee that reviews foreign acquisitions set out conditions: Mengniu must keep headquarters and most of the board Australian, and pour A$12m into local factories. Mengniu offered a 59% premium on the firm's share price, which had shed three-fifths in the 18 months before the offer (it has rebounded a bit since). Mr Cohen blamed falling Chinese birth rates, a regulatory hold-up on imports and competition in China's thirsty infant-formula market.
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