Most people associate Kirin with beer. That may be changing. Today Kirin revealed it is buying health and wellness company Fancl for JPY 220 billion (US$ 1.3b ) According to Bloomberg the purchase price is a 43% premium to the stock’s closing price. This is not Kirin’s first foray into health. It has a pharma and […]
Kao is a very large Japanese toiletry, cosmetics and chemical business listed on the Tokyo stock exchange. Many of its brands are household favourites, think Attack (laundry detergent) Kirei Kirei, Merries, Magiclean, Bioré or Kanebo cosmetics. Kao has recently been going through some house cleaning of its own. Many years ago it developed and entered
Last week the No 2 Japanese telecoms giant KDDI revealed plans with partner Mitsubishi to take Lawson convenience stores private. Lawson stores are ubiquitous in Japan (there are over 14,000) as is KDDI’s mobile business which trades under the ‘Au’ brand. 会うmeaning ‘meet’ as does 合う meaning ‘unite’. Both kanjis are pronounced ‘Au’. All are
J&J’s consumer health business – Kenvue – is big pharma’s latest spinoff
Can Kirin’s management successful integrate M&A?
This week Kellogg revealed the new corporate names for its soon to be split snacks business – Kellanova, and the legacy North American cereal business – WK Kellogg company. Kellogg has been in a world of pain for some time. The root cause has been breakfast, simply put people aren’t spending the time on breakfast
Is there more to the spin-off of Kellogg’s US cereal business than meets the eye? Read More »
M&A has long been part of Nestlé’s DNA, organic growth alone hasn’t made it the world’s largest food company. Rowntree chocolate (Kit Kat), Purina pet care, Gerber baby food are amongst its most famous plays. I worked in the company for 17 years in several markets – a requirement for all global executives – and
Cash rich Nestlé’s M&A allergy bet sours. CEO comes clean; time to rewrite Rx playbook Read More »
S4 Capital has all the makings of a Harvard case study. It’s a tale of a mercurial advertising scion, spurned by a business he previously founded, who in 5 years turned a shell company into a global advertising giant. It’s a tale that is still in its early chapters. S4 Capital was founded in 2018
S4 Capital’s lust for whopper growth wrenches its auditor’s nerves Read More »
Dial back to 2017. Then Reckitt Benckiser’s CEO Rakesh Kapoor spent $16.6n acquiring Mead Johnson, the infant nutrition company. Reckitt paid a 30% premium on the stock price. At the time, the deal’s logic rested more on China than the US, Mead Johnson’s heartland. Reckitt was keen to diversify its portfolio and saw an opportunity
If you live in Japan, you almost certainly know Kao 花王 It’s one of the country’s largest FMCG manufacturers marketing a plethora of brands in Cosmetics, Skin & Hair care, Health beverages, Fabric and Home care as well as a Chemicals division. The problem for Kao is that 70% of its revenues come from Japan,
Kao wants to become a global player but the big question is how? Read More »