AUSTRALIA – Japanese integrated beverages company, Kirin Holding, has decided to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of an Australian-based company operating a natural health business in the Asia-Pacific region, Blackmores Limited, for US$1.2 billion.
The implementation of the Scheme of Arrangement (“SOA”), which is one of the methods of acquiring the shares, requires the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the approval of the proposed acquisition at a general meeting of Blackmores’ shareholders, the approval of the Australian Federal Court and other necessary approvals is on course, the company said.
Blackmores, founded in 1932 by Maurice Blackmore, is Australia’s largest nutritional supplement company with a proud history of more than 90 years.
Blackmores’ key products and brands include Blackmores vitamin and dietary supplement and infant milk formula, BioCeuticals nutritional and therapeutic supplements, and PAW by Blackmores” pet supplements which are sold in markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kirin already has healthcare and pharmaceutical businesses that have expanded in Japan and overseas by maximizing strengths through its fermentation technology.
The company banks that the Health Science Domain is positioned in line with the Food & Beverages, and Pharmaceuticals as a pillar of next-generation growth.
The acquisition of Blackmores will transform the scale of the Health Science business, expand its product range and capabilities, and broaden its geographic profile and growth opportunities, Kirin noted.
It will expand access to Kirin’s ingredients to hundreds of millions of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region through Blackmores’ distribution network.
The Japanese brewer pointed out that Blackmores has a strong presence and trust from consumers in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore, having first expanded into Southeast Asia in 1976.
The Health Science company has a strong position as a foreign-affiliated nutritional supplement company in China, having entered the market in 2013. In recent years, Blackmores has also been actively expanding into new markets such as India.
Kirin’s Health Science business will also benefit from Blackmores’ knowledge of consumer demands and its deep understanding of country-specific regulations to deliver growth in the Health Science business through the evolution of the B2B and B2C businesses that propose solutions beyond the sales of ingredients.
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