Kirin Brewery Company

Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. (麒麟麦酒株式会社 Kirin Bīru Kabushiki-gaisha?) (TYO: 2503, NASDAQ: KNBWY) is a Japanese company. It is a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu.

Contents

Overview

Kirin sells two of the most popular beers in Japan, Kirin Lager--the country's oldest beer brand--and Ichiban Shibori. In the happoshu (low-malt) category, Kirin Tanrei is the top seller. Kirin handles domestic distribution for several foreign brands, including Budweiser and Heineken. Kirin's brewery operations also extend overseas, through strategic alliances, subsidiaries, and affiliates, to China, Taiwan, Australia, the Philippines, Europe, New Zealand and the United States. The company holds a 100%[1] stake in Lion Nathan Limited, a consolidated subsidiary that is based in Australia but has particularly important operations in China. Kirin has a 48%[2] stake in San Miguel Brewery, the dominant brewer in the Philippines. Kirin now applies its fermentation technology to areas such as plant genetics, pharmaceuticals, and bioengineering. Although brewing and related businesses remain the core of Kirin's activities, the company is also involved in several other sectors: hard liquor, wine, soft drinks, and food products.

In Japanese, "kirin" can refer to giraffes, or to Qilin, mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creatures. Kirin Brewery is named after the latter.

On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced that it was in negotiations with Suntory on a merger.[3] On February 8, 2010, it was announced that negotiations between the two were terminated.[4]

On October 2011, the court has decided that Kirin can buy a majority stake in family-run Brazilian brewer Schincariol. Kirin will buy 50.45 percent of the stakes with value $2.6 billion.[5]

In 2010, Kirin made 23.4 percent of sales abroad, the highest abroad revenue among Japanese brewery.[6]

Holdings

Alcoholic beverage business

Soft drink business

Logistics

Engineering

Restaurants

Real estate

Others of core business

Nutrient food

Agribio

Food

Holdings, International

Alcohol business

Soft drink business

Pharmaceutical business

Agribio business

Other business

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.kirinholdings.co.jp/english/news/2009/0511_01.html
  2. ^ http://www.kirinholdings.co.jp/english/news/2009/0522_01.html
  3. ^ キリン：サントリーと経営統合へ交渉 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞) Mainichi Shimbun (Retrieved on July 13, 2009)
  4. ^ Termination of Merger Negotiation with Kirin Suntory News Release (Retrieved on February 8,2010)
  5. ^ "Kirin wins Schincariol takeover court case". October 12, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15269798. 
  6. ^ "Asahi Plans Southeast Asia Takeovers, Seeking Wider Margins". http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/asahi-may-buy-southeast-asia-drink-makers-following-rivals-growing-abroad.html. Retrieved December 16, 2011. 
  7. ^ Paiste, Denis (2007-04-06). "Moxie, same taste, new owner" (reprint). New Hampshire Union Leader (Union Leader Corporation): p. B3. http://newenglandpride.blogspot.com/2007/04/cornucopia-beverages-acquires-moxie.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 

External links

TOPIX 100 companies of Japan
Core 30
Large 70