American confectioner Hershey has announced a deal to buy Chinese sweet maker Shanghai Golden Monkey (SGM) for $584 million (£357 million). The agreement marks one of the largest overseas acquisitions for the firm.

Hershey president and chief executive John Bilbrey said: "The strength of SGM's confectionery portfolio and overall distribution capabilities, especially within the traditional trade, is an opportunity for us to leverage scale to make the iconic brands of Hershey and SGM even more powerful.”