CJ Cheiljedang sells Chinese food production wing Jixiangju for $235 mln

SEOUL -- CJ Cheiljedang, a key subsidiary of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, has sold Jixiangju, a food production subsidiary known for a Chinese pickle called "zhacai" and Chinese-style fermented food items. Without disclosing the buyers, the South Korean company said all of its shares were sold for 300 billion won ($235 million).

Before the sell-off, CheilJedang owned 60 percent of Jixiangju's shares. The Chinese company was acquired by CheilJedang in 2016. In 2022, sales of Jixiangju reached about 291 billion won.

CheilJedang said in a statement on July 31 that Jixiangju was sold to multiple investors for 300 billion won. "We are unable to provide the names of buyers as we have agreed to not reveal them," CheilJedang's spokesperson Bae Gee-yo told Aju Korea Daily. The company said one of the buyers was Jixiangju's second-largest shareholder.

CheilJedang will focus on expanding Korean cuisine brands such as "Bibigo." The Bibigo brand provides various food items including dumplings, kimchi, a traditional fermented vegetable dish, and Jeonbokjuk, a Korean-style porridge made with abalone.

The South Korean company is selling Bibigo and Dasida, a Korean-style seasoning brand, through a China-based company Qingdao Foods. Cheiljedang has acquired several foreign companies such as Kahiki Foods, an Ohio-based maker of packaged and frozen Asian foods, and Mainfrost of Germany. In 2022, Cheiljedang's overseas food sales surpassed 5 trillion won.

Kim Joo-heon jhkim123@ajunews.com

CJ Cheiljedang sells Chinese food production wing Jixiangju for $235 mln

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