<article>Private equity firm <a class="tinymce-colortext" style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/polaris-capital-group/">Polaris Capital</a> has entered into an agreement with Japan’s beverage major <a class="tinymce-colortext" style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/asahi-group/">Asahi Group</a> to acquire all issued shares of its probiotic drinks maker LB Co Ltd.</article>

Private equity firm <a class="tinymce-colortext" style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/polaris-capital-group/">Polaris Capital</a> has entered into an agreement with Japan’s beverage major <a class="tinymce-colortext" style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/asahi-group/">Asahi Group</a> to acquire all issued shares of its probiotic drinks maker LB Co Ltd.
Financial details were not disclosed. Asahi said, the transfer of the entire 975,057 shares of LB to ALP Holdings – a special purpose entity for the transaction set up by Polaris Capital &#8211; will be completed by November 30.
Asahi entered the chilled drinks segment in 2005 by taking a majority stake in LB (Nagoya) Ltd and LB (Tokyo) Ltd, before a full takeover and merger of the two units in 2011 to create LB.
The chilled drinks arm, which makes non-alcoholic products like soft drinks, fruit beverages, and milk drinks, is the best performer in producing sugar-free green tea, commanding an over 50 per cent market share, Asahi said.
The company earned a net income of 371 million yen ($3.25 million) in 2016, a 22.4 per cent rise compared to a year earlier.
The disposal of LB is believed to have a positive impact on the enterprise-value growth of both Asahi and its wholly-owned subsidiary. The move aligns with the beverage group’s ‘Mid-term Management Policy’, which is designed to achieve its long-term goal of being a comprehensive F&amp;B business with the alcoholic beverage at core.
“For the future growth of LB, Polaris will help LB implement its growth strategies by sharing the know-how which Polaris has acquired through various carve-outs from large conglomerate and initial public offerings,” the Tokyo-headquartered private equity firm said.
Polaris has to date invested in about 30 Japanese companies, with a focus on business succession from individual owners and carve-out from large conglomerates.
It completed raising 75 billion yen for the Polaris Private Equity Fund IV in May 2017, only seven months after starting marketing for the vehicle. Polaris’s cumulative capital raised has reached almost 200 billion yen.
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Asahi said The transfer of the entire 975,057 shares of LB to Polaris Capital will be completed by November 30.

Japan: Polaris Capital acquires chilled drink unit from Asahi Group in a carve-out deal

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Japan: Polaris Capital acquires chilled drink unit from Asahi Group in a carve-out deal

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