Japan’s Meiji Holdings is selling its dairy and B2B units in China to Shanghai AustAsia Food. The deal covers Meiji’s drinking milk and yogurt operations, including full ownership of its production sites in Tianjin and Suzhou. The plant in Guangzhou is also excluded from the sale and Meiji will retain the intellectual property tied to its yogurt portfolio.

Meiji holds a 15.85% stake in AustAsia Group, the parent company of the buyer. The transaction is valued at up to $47.2m.

Meiji (China) Investment, the holding company for the businesses being sold, reported a net loss of $160m for the year to December, compared with a loss of $73.5m a year earlier. At Meiji Dairies (Tianjin), revenue almost doubled to $20m in 2025, though the unit still posted an operating loss of $7.5m. Meiji Dairies (Suzhou) moved from a $3.3m operating profit in 2024 to a $150m operating loss in 2025.

For the year ended 31 March, Meiji’s group net sales increased 1.7% to $7.2bn. Profit plunged 31%, driven by losses linked to its China operations.