Japanese trading firm Mitsubishi has agreed to acquire Kirin Kyowa Foods (KKF), a food flavors manufacturing subsidiary of Kirin Holdings, for JPY30.5bn ($321m).
Kirin Kyowa Foods produces a variety of ingredients and flavour enhancing products including yeast extracts, nucleotides and hydrolyzed proteins and has operations in Japan, Indonesia and China. It also manufactures seasonings, sweeteners, quality-enhancing agents, bakery ingredients, and processing liquors.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mitsubishi will purchase about 81% stake in KKF in July this year and the remaining share in January 2015.
This acquisition is a part of Mitsubishi's strategy to expand its presence in consumer businesses, increase its value proposition, and provide the global food processing industry with scaled up food flavoring solutions.
Mitsubishi stated that the worldwide market for food ingredients and flavoring products is estimated to be valued at $120bn and this market continues to grow, driven by rapid economic expansion in China and other Asian countries.
In November 2012, Mitsubishi established its wholly owned subsidiary Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences (MCLS) to leverage its strengths in the science and the food technology. Mitsubishi noted that it will be adding KKF to MCLS as a core entity, in order to allow integration of food innovation capabilities and technical expertise.
