Private equity firms KKR & Co LP, Baring Private Equity Asia, Hopu Investments and Boyu Capital are investing as a consortium in COFCO Meat, a subsidiary of China's state-owned COFCO Group, the firms said on Friday in a statement.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but KKR will invest around $150 million in COFCO Meat as part of the consortium from its second Asia fund, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

The consortium would invest about $270 million in total for a stake up to 70 percent of COFCO Meat, the source said.

The investment will help the Chinese company to build and manage large-scale hog farms and meat processing farms in China, the statement said. Such large-scale plants are part of China's efforts to address food safety concerns in the country.

"Bringing in the four strategic investors is an action by COFCO to diversify our equity ownership and enhance our corporate governance," Ning Gaoning, Chairman of COFCO Group said in the statement.