Japan’s Suntory set for key unit listing in Tokyo: reports
Major Japanese beverage makers have been seeking aggressive expansion abroad to offset a shrinking domestic market
Japanese drinks giant Suntory is to offer shares in its food-and-beverage unit in July, marking what could be the year’s biggest listing on the booming Tokyo Stock Exchange, reports said on Wednesday.
Privately-held Suntory was likely to receive the stock exchange’s approval later on Wednesday for a flotation of its Suntory Beverage & Food unit, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.
Separate stories from the leading Nikkei business daily and Jiji Press news agency pegged the initial public offering as being worth as much as 500 billion yen (HK$38.1 billion).
Suntory, which three years ago scrapped plans to merge with Japanese beverage giant Kirin to create one of the world’s largest beer and soft-drink companies, was likely to keep a 60 per cent stake in the unit, the reports added.
The division produces non-alcoholic beverages including soft drinks and bottled tea, with its sales last year coming in at 992.1 billion yen, or more than half of the Suntory group’s total revenue of 1.85 trillion yen.
Proceeds from the listing would be used to finance Suntory’s expansion plans, particularly in Southeast Asia, the Nikkei said, with the parent company and its alcoholic beverage unit reportedly to remain private.