Japan’s brewer Sapporo pivots to beer amid rising activist stake
Sapporo Holdings, a Japanese brewing company, is making a bold move in its significant history by decisively shifting its focus back to the beer business. Sapporo is planning to announce its business portfolio restructuring at the earliest opportunity, which comes in the wake of pressure from activist investors to divest its real estate assets, Reuters reported on Monday.
3D Investment Partners, based in Singapore, recently increased its Sapporo stake to become the top shareholder with 16 per cent.
The fund criticised Sapporo’s real estate concentration, and Masaki Oga, Sapporo’s leader since 2017, concurred with the critique, agreeing that the company should refocus on its beer business and improve its corporate value.
Oga stated on Monday that announcing an undergoing plan wouldn’t benefit external parties or the company.
He said they might announce parts of the plan that are already decided. Sapporo, in its annual results last week, admitted that its current business mix has resulted in resource dispersion and internal competition issues.
Sapporo plans to explore overseas mergers and acquisitions due to limited growth in its domestic beer business, attributed to Japan’s declining population.
Oga identified North America and Asia as key markets for expansion, particularly for the Sapporo brand, recognised for its tall, silver can. However, Sapporo’s track record with other brands is inconsistent, having bought Anchor Brewing for $85 million in 2017 and closing it down last year.
Oga admitted that they had hoped to improve the struggling Anchor but emphasised the necessity of a company’s ability to generate profits.
