Japan’s Sapporo Holdings will sell its real estate business to a consortium led by private equity firms KKR and PAG for 477 billion yen (€2.59 billion), Sapporo said in a press release.
The deal marks the latest instance of Japanese firms offloading non-core assets and comes after a lengthy battle with activist investors including Singapore-based 3D Investment Partners, which has been pushing for the brewer to carve out its real estate business.
Terms Of The Deal
The KKR-PAG group will first acquire 51% of the shares of Sapporo Real Estate by June 2026 before buying the remaining shares over the following three years.
Sapporo, which is largely active in the alcoholic beverage and food and beverage segments, will use the cash for growth investments, paying down debt and shareholder distributions, it said in a document.
Real estate has become an increasingly popular target for investors in Japan as it emerges from deflation and interest rates remain low.
Flagship Asset
Sapporo Real Estate’s flagship asset is the Ebisu Garden Place mixed-use complex in Tokyo that contains offices, housing and retail space.
KKR and PAG batted off competition from other funds including Bain Capital, Lone Star and Kenedix to emerge as the successful acquirer.
‘By focusing on the alcoholic beverages business in which the company has a competitive advantage and further honing its market creation capabilities, the company aims to grow as a company that can create rich beer and
consumer experiences on a global scale, while also targeting further improvements in capital returns.’ it said in a statement.
‘By off-balancing the real estate business to concentrate management resources, and investing the funds
obtained into the growth of the alcoholic beverages business, the group aims to enhance its medium- to longterm corporate value.’
Additional reporting by ESM
AloJapan.com