Short answers, pulled from the story.
Mengniu Dairy was founded in 1999 by Niu Gensheng and co-founder Sun Xianhong. Niu Gensheng was a former employee of Yili, the Inner Mongolian dairy company that became Mengniu's main competitor.
Mengniu was among the companies whose powdered milk tested positive for melamine in 2008. Trading in its Hong Kong Stock Exchange shares was suspended on the 17th of September 2008, the company recalled tainted products, apologized publicly, and was stripped of its Chinese national brand status after liquid milk was also found to be contaminated.
COFCO Corporation, a state-owned enterprise and China's largest importer and exporter of food, is Mengniu's largest strategic shareholder. COFCO acquired a 20% stake in July 2009 through a consortium purchase that effectively nationalized the company.
As of the year ending on the 31st of December 2015, Mengniu operated 33 production bases with an aggregate annual production capacity of 8.68 million tons. Its products span three segments: liquid milk, ice cream, and other dairy products including powdered milk.
Mengniu Arla is a joint venture formed in 2006 between China Mengniu Co. Ltd and Arla Foods, the largest dairy producer in Scandinavia. Mengniu holds 50% of the venture and Arla Foods holds 48%; it produces and distributes solid milk products in China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Mengniu ran campaigns tying its products to the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6 spacecraft launches, advertising itself as the milk for China's astronauts. The company also sponsored the SuperGirl contest, where singer Zhang Hanyun appeared in its commercials, and sponsored the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.