Bright Food: No Weetabix stake sale planned BO

Shanghai-based food giant Bright Food Group Co denied on Wednesday that any deal had been reached to sell its majority stake in popular UK cereal brand Weetabix.

A Reuters report claimed that the firm was looking to sell its 60 percent holding, which is valued at around 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion)

Bright Food said that no such deal was taking place at the moment and declined to comment further.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Weetabix, who requested anonymity, told China Daily that it was "business as usual" and the company does not comment on rumor or speculation.

Reuters, citing "unidentified sources", said a sales process could start in January because Bright Food struggled to crack China's market where most people prefer local hot and savory meals, such as rice or congee, for breakfast. The majority of Weetabix's sales came from the United Kingdom, where it is the second-largest cereal brand behind world leader Kellogg's.

Bright Food bought a controlling 60 percent stake in the British brand in 2012 in a deal worth 1.2 billion pounds from private equity firm Lion Capital.

At the time, the acquisition was the biggest by a Chinese company in the global food and drinks sector and the Chinese firm said it wanted to invest in the long-term development of the brand in Asia.

The news of a potential sale came after workers voted to go on strike in a dispute over shifts.

Thomas Wu, a Shanghai-based partner of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, said: "At the beginning, Bright Food bought Weetabix aiming to expand its European market and bring the well-known brand with the launch of localized products to attract more Chinese consumers, but I didn't see any change it has made yet."

He said: "We cannot say it is a failed acquisition as the company hardly tried to make use of Weetabix's fame and reputation to expand the market out of the UK."