Bega Cheese reportedly planning to buy Kirin Holdings in Australia

Japanese beverage company Kirin Holdings is reportedly planning to divest its Lion Dairy & Drinks business in Australia to Bega Cheese.

Reuters reported that the person familiar with the development said that Bega could purchase the drinks business for a consideration of A$550m ($402.05m).

The person said that there was no guarantee of a deal would be eventuating.

Last November, Chinese dairy company Mengniu Dairy signed an agreement with Kirin Holdings to acquire the Lion Dairy & Drinks business in Australia for A$600m ($407m).

Under the deal, Mengniu Dairy agreed to acquire complete white milk, milk-based beverages, juice, yoghurt and water ice brands and assets.

In February, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also approved Mengniu Dairy’s proposal to acquire Lion Dairy & Drinks.

ACCC said that it approved the proposal after examining the potential impact the deal may have on competition in the country.

However, in August, the two companies terminated the deal.

In a company statement, Kirin said that the two companies agreed to terminate the A$600m ($430m) transfer deal due to apprehensions that the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) would not approve the deal.

Since then, Kirin Holdings has reportedly been exploring new options to sell its Lion Dairy and Drinks business in Australia.

In September, citing undisclosed sources, Bloomberg reported that the Japanese firm had beginner talks with investors who previously expressed interest in its Lion Dairy & Drinks.

If the deal is successful, it would bring great relief for the Japanese alcoholic drinks firm, as the company has been trying to offload its drinks business in Australia since 2018.