http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...x/news-story/3de88aaadd7701c56f25c83e81679e5c
COMPANIES
Chinese star backs infant formula listing on ASX
‘Sister Milk Tear’ Zhang Zetian
Chinese internet celebrity and the wife of the founder of e-commerce giant JD.com, Zhang “Nancy’’ Zetian, is backing a new infant formula and organic baby food company to list on the Australian Securities Exchange next month.
The $5 million backdoor listing of Infant Food Holdings, the manufacturer of Bubs Organic branded baby food products, is also being backed by a $200m private equity fund called Wattle Hill, established earlier this year by Chinese entrepreneur Albert Tse, the husband of former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s daughter Jessica Rudd.
Ms Zetian, who is fondly known in China as “Sister Milk Tea” after a photo of her drinking a cup of tea when she was in high school registered millions of online hits seven years ago, will emerge with a 17.3 per cent stake in what will be known as Bubs Australia.
Wattle Hill will have an 8.3 per cent stake after the raising.
Ms Zetian, who is married to online business tycoon Richard Liu, gave birth to their first child in March after they were married in Australia last October. She is already on the board of private company Infant Food Holdings, as is Mr Tse.
This will be her first investment in the infant products sector. She plans to visit Australia at the end of next month for the listing of Bubs on the ASX. Bubs claims to have launched the first Australian goat milk infant formula, while its organic baby food products are sold in Coles supermarkets, department stores and on JD.com, among other e-commerce platforms in China.
Founding managing director Kristy Carr, whose family will also emerge with a significant stake in the company, said Bubs was looking for an investor group that added some real strategic value, with a foot in Australia and China.
“Albert allowed us to tap into a lot of the high-end connections in China. That led us to meeting Richard Liu and Nancy. She was really the last magical piece to bring to the shareholder group, Not only because of her relationship with JD but because of her profile in China. She is one of the most well-known celebrities in China,’’ Ms Carr said.
Bubs is moving into the infant formula market in China at a delicate stage, as new regulations are due to come into force in 2018 to slash the number of brands and tighten registration.
“We do have aspirations with regards to direct importation and have commenced the process to do so ... the baby store category is really important in China,’’ said chief executive Nicholas Simms.
Mr Simms added that the company also wanted to broaden the availability of the product in Australia and was already in talks with Chemist Warehouse and was keen to expand into Woolworths.
Ellerston Capital also has a substantial stake in Infant Food Holdings.
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