PepsiCo (PEP) is buying a Chinese company that sells snacks online as it tries to corner more of the world's largest food and beverage market.
The American soda and snack company said Sunday that the deal to buy Be & Cheery valued at $705 million will help Pepsi become "China's leading consumer-centric food and beverage company."
The value of China's snack market increased by more than 400% between 2006 and 2016, according to a 2019 estimate from the country's Ministry of Commerce. The ministry said it expects the market to be worth nearly 3 trillion yuan ($427 billion) this year.
