Japan: Orion Breweries agrees to change ownership
Nomura Holding Inc. said on January 23 its merchant banking unit and U.S. investment fund Carlyle Group will jointly purchase Okinawa-based brewer and resort hotel operator Orion Breweries Ltd. to help expand operations at home and abroad, The Mainichi reports.
Nomura Capital Partners and Carlyle plan to buy 658,504 of Orion Breweries' 720,000 unlisted shares for 79,200 yen ($720) each in a tender offer from Thursday, January 24
to March 22.
Nomura Holdings' head of merchant banking Masahiko Maekawa said in a news conference that Nomura and Carlyle will aim to list Orion in the future.
The share purchase will be carried out through a joint investment company established by Nomura and Carlyle for the purpose, with Orion Chairman Yoshio Kadekaru also planning to invest in the firm once the tender offer is successfully completed, they said.
Nomura Capital Partners has a 51 percent stake in the joint firm with Carlyle holding the balance.
Orion said its board had decided to support the takeover and recommend that shareholders offer their shares. Major shareholders include Asahi Breweries Ltd., a unit of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., which has a 10 percent stake.
Orion, Japan's fifth-biggest beer maker founded in 1957, has been exploring overseas markets in recent years and already exports to the United States, Taiwan and Hong Kong among other markets.
The domestic beer market has been shrinking. Shipments of beer and beer-like beverages in Japan fell for the 14th straight year in 2018.
Tilbage
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