Japan: Sapporo to conduct strategic review of business

Sapporo Holdings said on October 11 it had set up a committee to conduct a strategic review of the business as the Japanese beer group comes under pressure from shareholders dissatisfied with stagnant growth, Reuters reported.

The committee consists of five Sapporo directors and two external experts: Takehiko Ogi, former managing director of the now defunct government-run Industrial Revitalization Corp of Japan, and Ryotaro Fujii, senior adviser at private equity firm Permira, a company spokesperson said.

The company flagged it was setting up a committee in August, but revealed the details only after one of its shareholders, 3D Investment Partners, released a statement on October 11 welcoming the launch.

3D, which owns 3.05% of Sapporo according to LSEG data, has criticised the company for what it said was an undue focus on the real estate business, as well as suboptimal capital allocation which 3D said hinders growth in the core alcoholic beverage business.

According to 3D's statement, Sapporo "acknowledged" that accepting proposals from potential acquirers for the real estate business would be effective, and that "the committee's remit includes a fundamental review of its business portfolio, including the possible sale or spin-off of its real estate business".

The Sapporo spokesperson confirmed the committee was established in response to shareholder feedback, but declined to comment on the details of what would it would look into, saying the review would cover all its businesses.

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