Johannesburg, Jul. 2 - South African food manufacturer Astral Foods' said on Wednesday it had bought a 50 percent stake in East Balt for un undisclosed amount that was less than 5 percent of Astral's market capitalisation.
The acquisition of East Balt -- which bakes and sells hamburger buns, English muffins, Kaiser rolls and other sandwich carriers for selling to McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the country -- had already won approval from the country's Competition Commission, Astral said in a statement.
Astral said it would make a further announcement at a later date following a cautionary it issued on June 9, and urged shareholders to continue being cautious when trading its shares.
Shares in Astral were unmoved at 0.34 percent lower at 88.70 rand after the announcement, against a 0.15 percent rise in the All Share index by 1033 GMT.