Nestlé Looking To Boost Share Of China’s Infant Nutrition Market Through Acquisitions

Bloomberg News reports that Nestlé SA may be looking to significantly increase its share of  China’s infant nutrition market by acquiring U.K. infant formula maker SMA Nutrition. Citing market analysts, Bloomberg says a purchase of SMA would boost the Swiss company to No. 3 from No. 6 in the market, and would result in cost savings of as much as 10 percent of the unit’s sales. Analysts say Nestlé may be preparing a bid for the baby food unit of Pfizer Inc., which last month said it was considering selling or spinning off its nutrition business. “China is the single most attractive baby food market and [Nestlé] has been losing share there,” a Euromonitor analyst said. “It’s a priority for them.”