Cans of the Sapporo Black Label branded beer sit stacked at the Sapporo Breweries Ltd. factory in Eniwa, Hokkaido, Japan.
Tomohiro Ohsumi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japan’s Sapporo Holdings is planning to sell its real estate business to a consortium led by private equity firm KKR for 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion), public broadcaster NHK reported Wednesday.
Sapporo, known for its beer brewing business, is looking to concentrate management resources on its core operations, and has been “negotiating the price and terms with several investment funds and others,” NHK said, according to a Google translation of the article in Japanese.
Sapporo’s real estate holdings include the Yebisu Garden Place in Tokyo, a popular tourist destination that consists of the Yebisu Brewery as well as fine dining and shopping options.
The investment consortium includes KKR and Asia-based investment firm PAG, with NHK reporting that the PE buyout fund plans to grow property profits by attracting new tenants to Yebisu Garden Place.
Redevelopment of the venue is also expected to be considered in the future.
Sapporo, meanwhile, plans to use the funds generated from the sale to invest in its beer business and other areas, to boost its core corporate value.
Sapporo, whose shares gained 2.86% following the announcement, and KKR did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comments.
This is not Sapporo’s first attempt to offload its real estate business to the consortium. Back in October, Nikkei reported that the company had granted preferential negotiating rights to KKR and PAG, only to end exclusive talks the next month.
The report said the two sides were unable to agree on the sale price of the real estate business, as the properties in the portfolio “required significant and costly repairs due to aging facilities and the necessary implementation of safety measures.”
At that time, Sapporo had opened the sale to other buyers and was reportedly approaching a consortium made up of private equity funds Lone Star Funds and real estate fund manager Kenedix.
Read the full NHK story here.
