OSAKA (Kyodo) Suntory Ltd. plans to spend about ¥200 billion on mergers and acquisitions of beverage and food makers, mainly in Asia and Oceania, to strengthen its overseas operations, President Nobutada Saji said.
As the domestic market is shrinking due to Japan's graying population, Suntory aims to expand its business overseas through M&As with the help of the strong yen, Saji said in a recent interview.
"Southeast Asia is one of the regions that Suntory aims to focus our business on," he said.
"The recent appreciation of the yen is definitely an opportunity to seize on," he said, indicating the possibility of buying out more than one company for several billion yen each.
The Japanese beverage and food maker announced in October an acquisition plan for New Zealand soft drink maker Frucor Beverages Group Ltd. for about ¥75 billion.
In pressing forward with more M&As, Saji said his company hopes to more than double its annual overseas sales to "¥500 billion as soon as possible" from the current ¥200 billion.
Buoyed by brisk sales of such beer products, including The Premium Malts and Kin Mugi, Suntory is set to overtake rival Sapporo Breweries Ltd. as Japan's No. 3 beer maker this year for the first time in its history, claiming a market share of about 13 percent.
"We will aim at 15 percent (market share) first and then 20 percent," Saji said, unveiling the company's plan to increase its lineups next spring of low-priced beerlike beverages, or "third-category beer," to that end.
On the back of strong beer sales, Suntory's beer business is expected to turn a profit for the first time this year.
However, given the worsening economic conditions both at home and abroad, Saji said he "might consider putting off the timing of investments after examining the circumstances."
