Sanlu Group shares snapped up by five more companies

Shares previously owned by the bankrupt Sanlu Group, the Chinese dairy firm at the centre of last year's melamine contamination scandal, have been snapped up by five more companies on Tuesday (May 5).

The stakes were auctioned in Shijiazhuang, capital of the northern Hebei province. The assets included Sanlu's shares in four Hebei-based companies and the Tianjin Sanlu Co Ltd, of which Sanlu held 51 percent of the shares. Auction of the company's shares failed to win bids in April as the starting prices were too high.

Most of the buyers were shareholders of these enterprises, according to an unnamed auctioneer with Jiahai Auction Co Ltd.

Two more auctions are expected to be held on May 8 and 12, when more shares, as well as trademarks and 12 patent rights, will be auctioned.