Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. plans to spend some ¥500 billion on mergers and acquisitions to expand its operations abroad, the president of the Suntory group's soft drink unit, which listed its stock this week, said Friday.
The company, which debuted Wednesday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, will consider promoting M&As in emerging markets in such regions as Asia and Latin and South America, Nobuhiro Torii said.
There may also be opportunities to expand in the fast-growing African market, Torii said, adding the beverage company will aim to boost sales in the region by utilizing existing operational bases of France-based citrus drink maker Orangina Schweppes Group, which the Suntory group purchased in 2009.
Suntory Beverage went public on the TSE's first section in Asia's largest initial public offering this year, worth around $3.8 billion, raising around ¥390 billion through the IPO. The company is looking to double its sales to ¥2 trillion by 2020.
