Keystone-SDA
This content was published on
June 14, 2024 – 12:03
(Keystone-ATS) Kirin has announced its intention to buy Fancl, a Japanese cosmetics and food supplements group, for some 220 billion yen (1.25 billion francs), thus seeking to diversify its revenues in the face of the tepidness of its core business.
The Japanese beer giant Kirin, which since 2019 already owns 33% of Fancl, wants to acquire the rest of the shares via a public purchase offer (OPA) which will begin on Monday, according to a press release from the brewer published on Friday.
Fancl’s board of directors expressed a favorable opinion on the takeover bid.
Kirin’s stock fell 1.52% on Friday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while that of Fancl soared 21.22% to 2,284.5 yen following press reports announcing the takeover.
Fancl shares reached the authorized limit in one session and are expected to rise further after the weekend, as Kirin will offer 2,690 yen per share, a premium of 42.7% compared to the stock’s closing price on Thursday.
The drinks giant hopes to complete this transaction by the end of the year, after which Fancl will be delisted, a group spokesperson told AFP.
Kirin “aims to become a global leader in ‘creating shared value’ by creating value in areas ranging from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals” and transforming consumer health issues into growth opportunities,” recalled the group in its press release.
For the same purpose, Kirin had already acquired the Australian vitamin and food supplement manufacturer Blackmores last year for more than a billion euros.
In 2023, alcoholic beverages represented almost half of Kirin’s turnover, and almost 60% of its operating profit.
However, when announcing its annual results in February, it noted that the environment in this market had “changed due to the decline in the population (Japanese, Editor’s note) and the diversification of tastes”, forecasting in the long term “ uncertainties” regarding “market decline”.
Kirin hopes that the acquisition of Fancl will help boost the results of its health-related products division (5% of its total sales), which suffered an operational loss last year.
The global dietary supplement market was worth $177.5 billion in 2023 and is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 9.1% through 2030, according to analytics firm Grand View Research.
