Sapporo Holdings Ltd. and Toyota Tsusho Corp. said Thursday they will jointly acquire U.S. juice manufacturer Country Pure Foods Inc. to expand their business in the North American beverage market.
The two are expected to acquire the Ohio-based company through a joint venture in February for around $100 million (about ¥12 billion), sources close to the matter said. Beverage maker Sapporo is set to take a 51 percent stake, with trading house Toyota Tsusho claiming the rest, the two companies said.
Country Pure Foods manufactures and distributes juice for institutional customers such as schools and hospitals and provides private-label juice to retailers like supermarkets.
Operating four factories in the United States, the company posted sales of about ¥18.3 billion in 2013.