SCHIPHOL AIRPORT, Netherlands, May 25, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Royal Numico N.V. announces that an agreement has been reached on the sale of its dairy manufacturing plant in China to Heilongjiang Feihe Dairy Industry Co., Ltd. -- a subsidiary of American Dairy Inc. -- for a total consideration of USD 7.3 mln.The divestment of this Chinese dairy manufacturing plant is in line with Numico's strategic decision to fully focus its Chinese Baby Food activities on its premium brand Cow & Gate in Shanghai and the Guangdong province. Numico has entered into an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with Hutchison to specifically further develop the Guangdong province.
The transaction is expected to be completed by summer. Post completion, the transaction will substantially improve the financial performance of the continued baby food operations in China.
Royal Numico is a high-growth, high-margin specialised nutrition company with leading positions in Baby Food and Clinical Nutrition and brings products to the market under the brand names Nutricia, Milupa and Cow & Gate, among others. The company serves customers in over 100 countries and employs approximately 11,000 people (see also: www.numico.com).