Kirin, Suntory eye merger in April 2011+

TOKYO, Dec. 24 Kyodo -
Kirin Holdings Co. and Suntory Holdings Ltd. are arranging to merge around
April 2011 and are expected to make an official announcement of the basic
agreement in January, sources close to the development said Thursday.
An asset management company, which owns about 90 percent of Suntory shares and
is operated by Suntory's founding family members, is likely to be the top
shareholder with over 33 percent of shares in the new holding company the two
firms plan to establish, the sources said.
In July, the two Japanese brewers said they entered talks for a merger, which
would create one of the world's largest food and beverage makers, and are now
close to ironing out the details on the integration ratio, believed to be the
key to inking an accord.
They intend to maintain both of their ''Kirin'' and ''Suntory'' product brands
and their top executives are likely to take either the position of chairman or
president of the new holding company, the sources said.
The two firms have applied with the Japan Fair Trade Commission for a
preliminary investigation on whether their merger would face antitrust hurdles
since they would dominate over half of the share in the domestic beer market
and over 30 percent in the domestic soft drinks market, if they integrate.
Kirin and Suntory had originally intended to ink an agreement before the
year-end, but negotiations are dragging on with an investigation by the
antitrust watchdog expected to take several more months to complete.
==Kyodo
2009-12-24 22:40:18