New Zealand's a2 Milk gets China approval for infant formula rebranding

A2 Milk

Sun 22:41

    June 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand's a2 Milk ATM.NZ said on Monday it has received approval in China to convert two infant milk formula registrations tied to its recently acquired Pokeno facility into its own brands.
Acquisition of the Pokeno facility, which the infant milk formula maker completed in early September of last year, had included two China-label infant milk formula product registrations that the company planned to convert to its own brand.
The milk producer said approval from China's State Administration for Market Regulation means it no longer has the right to unwind the acquisition of the Pokeno facility.
a2 Milk expects to launch the new products later this year, it added.
CEO David Bortolussi said the approval was a significant step in the company's China growth strategy.
The board will soon meet to consider an NZ$300 million  ($172.20 million) special dividend first announced in August 2025, it said. It had conditioned the dividend payout on regulatory approval for the product registrations.
($1 = 1.7422 New Zealand dollars)

 (Reporting by Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
 ((Shruti.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))