Sapporo to refocus on beer business as activist raises stake

Sapporo Breweries

19/02/2024 09:52

By Ritsuko Shimizu and Rocky Swift
       TOKYO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Sapporo Holdings  2501.T , the
Japanese brewer pressured by activist investors to sell its
property holdings, wants to announce its business portfolio
reorganisation "as soon as possible", the company's president
said.
    Singapore-based 3D Investment Partners raised its stake in
Sapporo several times in recent months to become the largest
single shareholder with a 16% stake. The fund has criticised
Sapporo for focusing too much on its real estate business.
    Masaki Oga, who has led Sapporo since 2017, declined to
specify timing or details for the transformation, but agreed
with complaints raised by 3D and others that the company needed
to refocus on beer and improve corporate value.
    "To announce something half baked wouldn't be very good for
external parties, and also within the company," Oga, 65, said in
an interview on Monday. "If there is a certain piece that has
been clearly decided, then of course we may announce that part
alone." 
    Last week alongside full year results, Sapporo outlined a
growth plan that acknowledged its current mix of businesses have
led to "scattered resources and issues of intra-group
competition".
    With its domestic beer business unlikely to grow
significantly due to Japan's declining population, the company
plans to actively consider mergers and acquisitions overseas. 
    North America and Asia are the most attractive due to their
size and the company's familiarity with the markets, Oga said,
adding that the primary aim would be to expand its flagship
Sapporo brand, known overseas for its tall, silver can.
    The company has a mixed history managing other brands. It
purchased San Francisco's Anchor Brewing for $85 million in 2017
only to shutter the 127-year-old company last year.  
    "Anchor was a company that was really struggling, but in a
way, there was this naive expectation that if we worked
together, we could improve things a little," Oga said. "But a
company has to be able to generate profits."

 (Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
 ((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com;))