Whether Qi Zheng's hunch is correct or not remains to be verified, but in this eventful season, the intervention of foreign capital has made the situation in the dairy industry even more chaotic.

Fonterra approached Jiagu Dairy for the fourth time, and this time even Fonterra's CEO personally stepped in. As a sign of respect, Qi Zheng received him.

As one of New Zealand's largest multinationals and the world's sixth-largest dairy giant, Fonterra has been unknown in China.

In the Chinese dairy market, Fonterra is a "player" who can endure loneliness and does not start easily.

In the 90s, when the first round of investment in China's dairy industry kicked off, the international dairy giants Kraft and Parmalat came to show their strength with capital, technology and advanced management experience, but Fonterra chose to watch the fire from the other side and was unmoved.

Fonterra's side-by-side strategy was later proved to be correct, because Kraft and Parmalat both fell into the pit in this round of investment, and were defeated in the encirclement and suppression of the local dairy companies that have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and had to return home.

The situation is so complicated that Fonterra can only watch China's dairy companies move from naivety to maturity, but we are still not ready to compete head-on with China's local dairy companies.

It positions itself in the upstream of the industrial chain, providing raw milk powder to local dairy companies. 70% of the milk powder imported domestically comes from New Zealand, and 60% of this is supplied by Fonterra.

However, imports account for only 10% of China's dairy market, and with China's dairy market continuing to grow at double-digit annual rates, we no longer find any reason to be satisfied with the role of importer.

At the turn of the century, Fonterra finally decided to invest real money in China's dairy industry. After inspecting domestic dairy companies such as Yili and Mengniu, Fonterra finally took a fancy to the Yamaga Group, which is good at processing milk powder.

Fonterra continues its usual cautious style, with negotiations for its investment in Yamagaku taking more than five years.

In the original history, the two companies finally reached an agreement that Fonterra should have invested in the Yamagae Group at the end of last year.

But the birth of Jiagu Dairy changed the process.

Compared with the development model of other dairy enterprises in China, which is no different from the development model of Yamaga Group, Jiagu Dairy, which builds its own milk source and builds large-scale pastures, is undoubtedly more in line with Fonterra's vision.

Helplessly, King Xiang has a dream, and the goddess has no heart.

Fonterra approached Jiagu Dairy three times with the intention of investing. But the flattering eyes it threw were all ignored by Jiagu Dairy.

Affected by this, the progress of Fonterra's investment in Yamagae Group has also slowed down, and the investment target has not yet been settled.

Fonterra dispatched its CEO this time, and in Qi Zheng's view, it was probably the last attempt.

"Mr. Ferrier, I don't understand, why did Fonterra, which has three or four million cows in New Zealand, come to China to raise cows in captivity, even though it can rely on its resource endowment to be leisurely and comfortable?" asked Qi Zheng, who spread his hands.

Andrew Ferrier, CEO of Fonterra, confessed: "Because in New Zealand, although the number of dairy cows is huge, the stocking model also puts a lot of pressure on water, resources and the environment. There has been opposition from local environmentalists to increasing the stockpile. ”

"This has also led to a slowdown in the production of raw milk in New Zealand and an increase in production costs. On the contrary, China is currently a very dynamic and promising market and would rightfully be chosen as a priority market for Fonterra outside of New Zealand. ”

Qi Zheng smiled: "Mr. Ferrier, with all due respect, although I am very grateful to Fonterra for valuing our Jiagu Dairy, I don't see any benefit in cooperating with you?"

Andrew Ferrier shook his head and said, "No, no, no, you can't say that. In my opinion, driven by Jiagu Dairy's self-built large-scale pastures, China's dairy industry is facing a revolution. At Fonterra, we have a wealth of reserves in pasture management, including management, experience, technical knowledge, etc., and our cooperation is a match made in heaven. ”

Qi Zheng disagrees with this, Fonterra adopts a grazing model in New Zealand, which is different from Jiagu's centralized captive breeding model, and the help that can be given to Jiagu is actually limited.

Andrew Ferrier gushed out: "What's more, I know that Jiagu Dairy has taken a lot of loans in order to build a ranch, and accepting our investment can greatly reduce the financial pressure of Jiagu Dairy." ”

Qi Zheng was unmoved: "Unfortunately, the debt ratio of Jiagu Dairy is completely under control, and there is no need for foreign investment for the time being." ”

Andrew Ferrier gritted his teeth: "We, Fonterra, are willing to invest $1.5 billion to buy a stake in Jiagu Dairy10." ”

Qi Zheng glanced at Andrew Ferrier in surprise, that is to say, Fonterra's valuation of Jiagu Dairy has reached $1.5 billion, which is a lot higher than the previous three valuations.

But Qi Zheng still shook his head: "Jiagu Dairy has the support of Jiagu Group behind it, and there is no shortage of development funds for the time being. Mr. Ferrier, I am very touched by your persistence, but I can only say sorry!"

“......”

Faced with Qi Zheng, who did not advance in oil and salt, Andrew Ferrier had a headache.

The past decade has been arguably the "golden age" of China's dairy industry, with dairy production doubling and consumption maturing. Fonterra has always wanted to be one of the real players in the Chinese dairy market.

However, the frequent failures of other foreign investors in the Chinese market have warned us of the complexity of China's dairy market, and forced us to re-examine its development strategy in China.

Fonterra has been closely monitoring the development of China's dairy industry, and finally decided to select local industry giants as partners at the right time to directly share the fruits of victory after industry integration, and the investment method will also change from other foreign direct industrial operations to capital participation.

Yamaga Group is good to say that the willingness to accept investment is relatively strong, but Fonterra is more optimistic about Jiagu Dairy, and does not give any chance to start at all.

Fonterra is faced with the scene of a foreigner facing a plate of fragrant Chinese food, but does not know how to use chopsticks.

Andrew Ferrier continued to try to impress Qi Zheng, but Qi Zheng remained indifferent, and in the end, the two sides broke up.

Qi Zheng didn't care, seeing that Jiagu Dairy, which has five large pastures in hand, has become a big trend, how can foreign capital be allowed to easily pick the fruit? If it weren't for the fact that it was not for the bad luck with Fonterra and the impact on possible investment in New Zealand in the future, Qi Zheng would not have bothered to deal with Andrew Ferrier.

......

As Qi Zheng expected, after the CEO was rejected by him, Fonterra gave up the pursuit of Jiagu Dairy, and soon finalized the cooperation with the Yamaga Group.

Yamaga Group and New Zealand's Fonterra signed a joint venture agreement at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, and Yamaga Group and Fonterra Group announced the official operation of the joint venture.

Fonterra strategically invested in Yamaga, spending a total of US$1.1 billion and holding a stake in Yamaga-44. It holds three of the seven seats on the Yamaga's board of directors, but only one financial representative is assigned to manage it.

This is the largest single investment by a foreign company in China's dairy industry to date, and the comeback of international dairy giants in the Chinese market is already faintly visible.

The strong alliance between the two sides has made the dairy industry exclaim: the cooperation between Yamaga and Fonterra may once again change the domestic dairy market pattern and promote the change of the domestic dairy competition pattern.

The huge domestic dairy market demand also seems to mean that Fonterra will gain a lot of revenue, and will become the starting point for Fonterra to further deepen the domestic market.

Qi Zheng looked at the news, Tian Wenhua, chairman of Yamaga Group, proudly declared: "After the joint venture, Yamaga plans to invest 2 billion yuan to establish or acquire factories across the country within three years." Competition is not our goal, dedication to the society of the best quality products and services is the foundation of hope. ”

Qi Zheng: Hehe......

Then Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier also confidently said: "The investment in Yamaga reflects Fonterra's confidence in the future of China's dairy industry, and also shows our determination to promote China's local dairy industry." ”

Qi Zheng: Hehe......

One is performing black humor, and at the same time losing face to the world; the other is working hard for more than ten years, vowing not to fall into the pit and not give up, what can Qi Zheng say?