Japan's Sapporo eyes strategic review amid shareholder pressure

Sapporo Breweries

11/10/2023 04:21

By Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu
       TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Sapporo Holdings  2501.T  said
on Wednesday 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.
    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 Wednesday 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.

 (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu; editing by
Miral Fahmy)
 ((Makiko.Yamazaki@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2805;))