Japan's Kirin, Suntory in merger talks

• Source: Xinhua
• [11:25 July 13 2009]
• Comments

Japanese drinks companies Kirin Holdings Co. and Suntory Holdings Ltd. are negotiating a merger to create one of the world's largest beverage and food firms, media reported on Monday.

Kirin and Suntory are in talks to merge under a holding company with the aim of strengthening their operations in the mature Japanese market and accelerate expansion into growing overseas markets. Kirin and Suntory aim to ink an agreement this year, the Nikkei Business Daily reported.

The merged entity would be the largest in both the Japanese beer and soft drink markets with combined group sales of 3.8 trillion yen (41 billion US dollars), it said.

The holding company would be bigger than Belgian-based Anheuser-Busch InBev and Coca-Cola Co. of the United States and on a par with US food and beverage giants Pepsico Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc., it said.

"We have cooperated with Suntory in distribution, procurement and many other fields but nothing concrete has been decided regarding such a business merger as reported," Kirin said in a statement responding to the report.

Suntory spokeswoman Naoko Tada offered no immediate comment.

(Agencies)