Deu até no Wall Street Journal: Kirin compra o restante das ações da Schincariol e agora é dona 100% da empresa.

Em: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203716204577016774143596152.html

KIRIN BUYS REMAINING SHARES OF BRAZIL’S SCHINCARIOL

By HIROYUKI KACHI

TOKYO—Kirin Holdings Co. said Friday it has bought all the shares it doesn’t already own in Brazilian brewer Schincariol for around $1.3 billion, continuing its march into emerging markets after a three-month wrangle with Schincariol shareholders opposed to the deal.

Coming the same day as it halved its net profit outlook for the current fiscal year, the Tokyo-based beverage company said it has bought all outstanding quotas of Jadangil Participacoes e Representacoes Ltda., which holds 49.54% of Schincariol’s outstanding shares, as well as a 0.01% stake from other minority shareholders. The purchase, valued at 2.35 billion reals, or ¥105 billion, will be funded through cash and loans.

In August, Kirin agreed to buy a 50.45% stake in the closely held Brazilian beer and soft drinks company in a deal valued at about $2.56 billion. But Kirin’s attempts to take over the rest of the company hit a snag after Schincariol minority shareholders gained a provisional injunction in a local court to block its efforts.

A Brazilian court last month lifted the injunction, however, clearing the way for Kirin to take over the rest of Schincariol.

“We believe the latest deal will allow us manage with lots of flexibility,” said Kirin managing director Hirotake Kobayashi at a news conference. He said all Schincariol family members will withdraw eventually from the company.

Buoyed by the strong yen, Japanese food and beverage companies are ramping up their overseas merger-and-acquisition activities as domestic demand stagnates due to a shrinking population, changing consumer tastes and weak economic growth.

Brazil’s beer consumption jumped 11% in 2010, according to the country’s National Brewing Association, compared with a growth rate of about 1%-2% in the U.S. and shrinking Japanese beer consumption. For Kirin, which owns all of Australia’s Lion Nathan Ltd. and 48% of San Miguel Brewery Inc. of the Philippines, the takeover will give it access to a fast-growing emerging market outside of Asia and Oceania.

Schincariol started out in 1939 as a seller of soft drinks, and now also has a range of popular beer brands. Its soft drink Itubaina is still popular in the interior of Sao Paulo state, where Schincariol’s headquarters are located.

Asked about a combined price tag worth ¥300 billion to buy the entire stake, Mr. Kobayashi said “the amount of the purchase is reasonable on a basis of anticipated strong growth potential in the Brazilian market.”

He said Kirin initially sought to manage the Brazilian brewer with the cooperation of minority shareholders.

But Mr. Kobayashi said further large-scale M&As for Kirin, which would mean additional bank loans, would be difficult at this moment. He said Kirin has no intention of using equity financing to conduct more M&As.

Separately on Friday, Kirin, which will include Schincariol in its earnings results starting in the next business year, which ends December 2012, halved its net profit outlook for this fiscal year to ¥27 billion from ¥52 billion due to writedowns on its stock holdings amid recent financial market turmoil. It left its sales estimate unchanged at ¥2.11 trillion.