A unit of China's State-owned Bright Food Group Co will take a half share in New Zealand's biggest meat cooperative for NZ$311 million ($197 million), as China looks to import more of the country's agricultural products.
Sheep and beef exporter Silver Fern Farms said on Tuesday that it would sell a 50 percent stake to food processor Shanghai Maling Aquarius, a Bright subsidiary.
The deal is the latest in a string of investments in agriculture by companies in China.
The nation is the world's biggest meat consumer, where a growing middle class has encouraged firms to look overseas for sources of meat, dairy and other proteins.
"The long term prospect for New Zealand agriculture including meat is positive, so we're not surprised to see offshore interest in domestic agribusinesses," ASB rural economist Nathan Penny said.
Shanghai Maling said the purchase would give it access to the New Zealand company's high-quality produce.
In addition, the deal would help the company almost triple its revenues versus 2014 to as much 30 billion yuan ($4.71 billion).
"Once this deal goes through, our company will quickly become China's biggest consolidated lamb and beef industrial group," Maling said in a statement to the Shanghai exchange.
Officials for Bright Food and Shanghai Maling declined to comment further on the prosposed transaction.
New Zealand is the world's biggest sheepmeat exporter and fifth-largest overseas supplier of beef.
The country is sending roughly one-third of its exports by value to China during the 12 months to June.
Silver Fern Farms, a farmer-owned cooperative, controls about 27 percent of New Zealand's beef and sheepmeat export market.
However, the company has been hurt by a collapse in sheepmeat prices and has struggled to make deep inroads into growing export markets.
"This is a substantial capital investment," Silver Fern Farms Chairman Rob Hewett told reporters.
"Our partner's assets are considerable, and we will look to leverage those opportunities into China," he noted.
Bright, which processes foods ranging from sweets to pork products to rice wine, has been on a global acquisition spree in recent years.
British cereal producer Weetabix and Australian dairy company Mundella Foods among its buys.
Bright already has a roughly 40 percent stake in New Zealand infant formula processor Synlait
Meanwhile, other Chinese companies have also been active in the country.
