China Yeehoo Group Ltd., a Guangzhou-based Chinese baby products retailer, has sold a controlling stake to Lunar Capital Management Ltd. and its affilates.
Yeehoo’s existing management team will remain a substantial minority shareholder of the company, while Lunar Capital will appoint a majority of the board of directors and second members of its operation team to the company, Yehoo said in a release today. Financial details of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
Demand in China for baby and infant products has been bolstered by urbanization and rising disposable incomes. Annual per-household spending on children’s products in urban Chinese regions increased from $288 in 2005 to $663 in 2009, and is expected to reach $1,256 by 2013, the release said, citing estimates by Frost & Sullivan.
Established in 1995, Yeehoo designs products targeting infants up to four years old and distributes to more than 650 stores, the company said. Lunar Capital, a Chinese private equity fund, has investments in cement, forestry and juice- producing companies in China.
