A group of shareholders raised nearly HKD855.4 million or USD110 million from the sale of 5.2% stake in China Modern Dairy. The said sale of shares in the Hong Kong listed firm took advantage of the strong run-up in share prices for the past quarter.

The deal was received by nearly 60 investors through the orders that amounted thrice the number of shares made available. Despite the share price gain and stock value up to 80% since July, many investors opted to purchase at the lower range price pegged for the stock.

The high demand for the shares creates a positive buzz in the Chinese dairy industry in the past few months. This comes in the midst of a government initiated industry consolidation aiming to create high profile local brands and improve quality of milk products processed in the country. Another event, the China Huishan Dairy IPO in Hong Kong would help focus on sector dynamics.

China Modern Dairy is the largest producer of raw milk in China. It is viewed as among the top tier firms in the industry. It was recently the target of a takeover bid by China Mengniu Dairy after the latter bought 26.9% stake in the company.