SHIJIAZHUANG: Beijing-based Sanyuan Group successfully bid 49 million yuan ($7.2 million) yesterday to buy a 95-percent stake in the Sanlu (Shandong) dairy company, previously owned by the Sanlu Group, the bankrupt dairy firm at the center of the melamine contamination scandal.

The shares were auctioned in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, according to sources with the Hebei Jiahai Auction Co Ltd.

Four companies participated in the auction, which started at 10 am, with an opening bid of 33 million yuan.