Japan Food Manufacturing M&A: Core-Business Focus, Private Equity and Owner-Run Manufacturers

(Updated October 2026. USD figures are converted at USD/JPY = 150 for reference. Yen equivalents of foreign-currency deal values are as disclosed by the companies.)

Food manufacturing alone, excluding beverages, accounts for about one-tenth of Japan’s manufacturing shipments and employs more people than any other manufacturing subsector. Most of its establishments have fewer than 300 employees. In recent Japan food manufacturing M&A, large food groups have concentrated resources on their core businesses and transferred other operations to specialist manufacturers, as House Foods Group did when it sold Delica Chef to Musashino. Private equity funds have invested in long-established confectionery, beverage and food makers, in some cases taking companies private together with founding families and in others exiting through an IPO. Abroad, Kagome, Itoham Yonekyu Holdings and Nissui have acquired companies at the raw-material production and primary-processing stage.

This article is written for corporate development and international business development teams at foreign companies that see Japan as an acquisition market, a source of partners, or a source of acquirers for their own businesses. It reviews Japan food manufacturing M&A through the market structure, the industry landscape, domestic consolidation, foreign capital in Japanese food manufacturing, Japanese food majors’ acquisitions abroad, the industry-specific factors acquirers examine, and the implications for overseas acquirers.

1. Market Structure — A Large Market Served Mainly by Small and Mid-Sized Plants

Market size

In this article, food manufacturing includes beverage manufacturing. According to the 2025 Economic Structure Survey (manufacturing establishments) by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), shipments of Japan’s food products manufacturing (excluding beverages) reached ¥35.0tn (~USD 233bn) in 2024, up 6.1% year on year and equal to 9.2% of all manufacturing shipments. The industry had 23,820 establishments as of June 1, 2025 (11.1% of manufacturing) and 1,117,773 employees (14.7%), the largest employment of any manufacturing subsector. Including beverages, tobacco and feed (¥10.8tn, ~USD 72bn), the combined share of manufacturing shipments is about 12% (METI, 2025 Economic Structure Survey: Manufacturing Establishments, summary of results (Japanese)).

Comparing the latest four editions of the survey, food manufacturing shipments (for each prior calendar year) rose about 17% from ¥29.9tn in 2021 to ¥35.0tn in 2024, while the number of establishments (as of June 1 of each survey year) fell from 24,654 to 23,820. Consumer food prices have also risen in recent years (see below), so part of the growth in shipments reflects higher prices.

By size, establishments with fewer than 300 employees account for 97.3% of food manufacturing establishments and 72.8% of the industry’s shipments. Across all manufacturing, establishments of that size account for only 46.8% of shipments. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) reports that 97.6% of Japan’s 24,245 food manufacturing companies (2023) are small or medium-sized (the company count comes from a different, cross-industry edition of the survey and has a different scope from the establishment count above). In food manufacturing, small and mid-sized plants produce most of the output.

Segments

Shipments by segment in 2024 were as follows (same survey).

Segment	Shipments	Share	Selected cases (including overseas)
Other foods (prepared meals, boxed meals, noodles, frozen prepared foods, etc.)	¥9.63tn (~USD 64bn)	27.5%	Case 1 (Delica Chef), Case 5 (Malony)
Livestock products	¥8.36tn (~USD 56bn)	23.9%	Case 16 (Greenlea)
Bread and confectionery	¥6.15tn (~USD 41bn)	17.6%	Case 2 (Kobeya), Case 8 (Oyatsu Company, Kabaya Foods), Case 19 (Blommer)
Seafood products	¥4.00tn (~USD 27bn)	11.4%	Case 3 (YS Foods), Case 17 (Yadrán)
Seasonings	¥2.13tn (~USD 14bn)	6.1%	Case 4 (Yamakin)
Rice polishing and flour milling	¥1.95tn (~USD 13bn)	5.6%	Case 6 (Kumamoto Flour Milling)
Animal and vegetable oils and fats	¥1.35tn (~USD 9bn)	3.8%	—
Canned and preserved fruit and vegetables	¥0.85tn (~USD 6bn)	2.4%	Case 15 (Ingomar)
Sugar and starch sugars	¥0.60tn (~USD 4bn)	1.7%	Section 2 (sugar consolidation)

Raw materials, processes and customers differ widely by segment. In M&A, the segment, the sales channels and the raw-material sourcing a company holds shape the set of likely acquirers.

Five drivers of consolidation

Rising raw-material and energy costs and price pass-through — Japan’s consumer price index for food excluding fresh food rose 8.2% in 2023, 3.8% in 2024 and 7.0% in 2025 year on year (Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 base). MAFF’s FY2024 White Paper, citing a survey by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, reports that small and medium-sized food manufacturers passed on 55.3% of their cost increases to prices. The remainder squeezes margins, and scale in procurement and production or higher value-added products are among the responses.
Logistics constraints — With the cap on truck drivers’ overtime in effect from April 2024, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism estimates that, without countermeasures, trucking capacity could fall short by about 14% in FY2024 and about 34% in FY2030 (MLIT, Trends in Logistics and Current Issues in Logistics Policy (Japanese)). According to MAFF, trucks carry 96.5% of agricultural products and food. In Case 1, the parties cited stronger logistics through greater scale as a synergy.
Securing production workers — The number of foreign residents with Specified Skilled Worker (i) status in the food and beverage manufacturing field rose from 53,282 at the end of June 2023 to 100,769 at the end of June 2026 (preliminary), or 23.7% of all Specified Skilled Worker (i) residents (Immigration Services Agency of Japan). The near doubling in three years indicates that food plants are filling staffing needs from outside their traditional labor pool.
Portfolio reviews by large groups — Under its eighth medium-term plan, House Foods Group concentrates resources on three value chains (spices, soybeans and functional ingredients), and sold Delica Chef, a maker of prepared food for convenience stores, to Musashino, a specialist in the same category (Section 3). Kirin Holdings sold the amino acid business of its subsidiary Kyowa Hakko Bio to a company of China’s Meihua group (Section 4). These are examples of large groups transferring non-core food and ingredient businesses to companies for which those businesses are core.
Business succession — Japan’s Small and Medium Enterprise Agency estimated that by 2025 about 2.45 million owners of small and medium-sized enterprises would be over 70, and that about half of them (1.27 million) would have no designated successor (SME Agency, Current Analysis of Business Succession and M&A (Japanese)). In food manufacturing, owners have sold all of their shares to listed companies (Cases 4 and 5) or sold a majority while retaining a stake (Case 3), and owner exits such as Hamashin and Eida Foods were announced in 2025 (Section 2).

Exports are also widening the market. Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food reached a record ¥1.70tn (~USD 11.3bn) in 2025, up 12.8%, with processed food the largest category at ¥572.5bn (~USD 3.8bn) (MAFF, 2025 export results (Japanese)).

2. Industry Landscape

Japan’s food majors

The moves of Japan’s food majors include selective portfolio decisions and acquisitions at home, and acquisitions abroad. In Japan, Yamazaki Baking, House Foods Group and Nisshin Seifun Group have acquired businesses (Cases 2, 5 and 6), while House Foods Group (Delica Chef), Kirin Holdings (Kyowa Hakko Bio’s amino acid business) and NH Foods (Nippon Ham), which sold seafood processor Marine Foods to Sojitz in 2022, have transferred businesses outside their core. Abroad, Kagome (US tomato processing), Itoham Yonekyu Holdings (New Zealand beef processing), Nissui (Chilean salmon farming) and Fuji Oil (US industrial chocolate) have acquired raw-material production, primary processing and local manufacturing bases (Section 5).

Listed mid-size companies and roll-up acquirers

Some listed mid-size companies acquire owner-run businesses and group carve-outs on a continuing basis. Yoshimura Food Holdings (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; consolidated revenue ¥57.5bn (~USD 383mn) for the fiscal year ended February 2026) had 38 consolidated subsidiaries at the end of February 2026. Positioning itself as a support platform for small companies, it acquires small food manufacturers while keeping their names and brands (Case 3). Yoshimura reported about 570 deal introductions in the fiscal year ended February 2026, and in October 2026 announced the acquisition of Nihon Kanzume. Kobe Bussan, which pursues an integrated manufacturing-and-retail model, agreed in 2025 to acquire Uehara Foods Industry, a maker of fillings for confectionery and bakery, from chemical maker ADEKA for ¥700mn (~USD 4.7mn), and resolved in 2026 to acquire sake brewer Hakuro Shuzo (Nagaoka, Niigata) through a subsidiary. Ebara Foods Industry (Case 4), Wakou Shokuhin and STI Food Holdings have also acquired owner-run companies. In this article, acquirers that buy and add companies to their group on a continuing basis are called roll-up acquirers.

Consolidation within segments

In segments where raw-material sourcing and production scale drive earnings, major producers have merged or acquired peers. In sugar, Mitsui Sugar and Dai-Nippon Meiji Sugar integrated as DM Mitsui Sugar Holdings in 2021, and Nissin Sugar and Itochu Sugar integrated as Wellneo Sugar in 2023. In both mergers, the companies cited the reorganization of production sites, consolidation of logistics and raw-material procurement, and research and development. In flour milling, Nisshin Flour Milling acquired 85.0% of the voting rights of Kumamoto Flour Milling, its business partner since 2011 (Case 6).

Food companies within large groups

Japan’s food, beverage and chemical groups have held food businesses outside their core operations: Delica Chef (prepared food for convenience stores) within House Foods Group, Q’SAI (health food) within Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings, Uehara Foods Industry (fillings) within ADEKA, and Kyowa Hakko Bio’s amino acid business within Kirin Holdings. Each of these groups has since sold, or agreed to sell, the business outside the group.

Owner-run manufacturers

Of Japan’s food manufacturing companies, 97.6% are small or medium-sized (Section 1). In the owner exits covered in this article, target revenue ranged from a few hundred million yen to more than ¥10bn.

Target	Segment	Revenue (fiscal year)	Acquirer and structure
YS Foods	Scallop processing	¥16.9bn (~USD 112mn), FY ended Jul 2022	Yoshimura Food Holdings acquired 70% (Case 3)
Hamashin	Prepared food	¥3.4bn (~USD 23mn), latest fiscal year, including subsidiaries	Acquisition agreed by STI Food Holdings
Malony	Starch noodles	¥2.7bn (~USD 18mn), FY ended Jul 2016	House Foods Group acquired all shares (Case 5)
Hosokawa Foods	Frozen food	¥2.1bn (~USD 14mn), FY ended Oct 2021	Yoshimura Food Holdings acquired all shares
Hakuro Shuzo	Sake	¥872mn (~USD 5.8mn), FY ended Jun 2025	Acquisition resolved by the Kobe Bussan group
Fukyo Foods	Spring roll wrappers	¥510mn (~USD 3.4mn), 2023	Yoshimura Food Holdings acquired all shares
Eida Foods	Natural extracts	¥297mn (~USD 2.0mn), latest fiscal year	Wakou Shokuhin acquired all shares

Owners’ capital decisions vary. Nagatanien Holdings was taken private in 2024 through a management buyout with a fund, with the Nagatani family expected to retain about 34.5% (Case 9). Non-listed companies disclose limited information, and identifying them requires research beyond public databases.

Concentration in Kansai

Of the companies covered in this article, Kobeya (Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka), Malony (Suita, Osaka), House Foods Group (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo and Higashiosaka, Osaka), NH Foods (Kita-ku, Osaka) and Kobe Bussan (Kakogawa, Hyogo) are headquartered in Osaka or Hyogo prefectures.

3. Domestic Consolidation — Carve-Outs, Owner Exits and Private Equity

Case 1: House Foods Group and Musashino (announced 2025, executed 2026) — A specialist acquires a major’s non-core business

In September 2025, House Foods Group announced the sale of all shares in its consolidated subsidiary Delica Chef (Kuki, Saitama; established 1985) to Musashino (Asaka, Saitama), a maker of boxed meals, rice balls, sandwiches and other food for convenience stores. The sale also covered the land and buildings of the Kuki plant and the assets of the Narashino plant, for a total price of ¥9.0bn (~USD 60mn). The share transfer was scheduled for January 15, 2026, and Delica Chef was excluded from House Foods Group’s consolidation in its results for the fiscal year ended March 2026, confirming that the sale was executed.

Delica Chef’s main customer is Seven-Eleven Japan. Its revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2025 was ¥18.8bn (~USD 126mn), with an operating loss of ¥172mn (~USD 1.1mn). House Foods Group explained that Delica Chef had little connection with the three value chains on which its eighth medium-term plan concentrates resources, and that the business could grow under Musashino, a company in the same category. The two companies expect to combine Musashino’s product development and production management with Delica Chef’s capabilities, and to strengthen procurement and logistics through greater scale.

This transaction shows that (i) a food major transferred a business outside the core areas of its medium-term plan to a specialist in the same category, (ii) the transaction was completed at ¥9.0bn, including plant land and buildings, although the target had recorded an operating loss in its latest fiscal year, and (iii) the acquirer sought greater production scale for convenience-store customers and more efficient procurement and logistics.

Case 2: Yamazaki Baking and Kobeya (agreed 2022, completed 2023) — A packaged bread business transferred to the industry leader through a corporate split

In August 2022, Yamazaki Baking and Kobeya (Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka) agreed that Kobeya would transfer its packaged bread manufacturing and sales business, together with the deli business of a subsidiary, to a newly established company through a corporate split, and that Yamazaki Baking would acquire all shares of the new company. The new company, YK Baking Company (Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka), became a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamazaki Baking on March 31, 2023. According to Yamazaki Baking’s disclosure, the new company had 599 employees, and Yamazaki Baking lent it ¥2.0bn (~USD 13mn). The price was not disclosed.

This transaction shows that (i) a non-listed bakery carved out a major business, packaged bread, through a corporate split and sold it to the industry leader, (ii) the scope of the sale was defined by business, and the seller retained its other businesses, and (iii) the manufacturing and sales business and its employees were moved together into the successor company.

Case 3: Yoshimura Food Holdings and YS Foods (2023) — A majority sale with the owners retaining a stake

In August 2023, Yoshimura Food Holdings announced the acquisition of 70% of YS Foods (Mori, Hokkaido), a processor focused on scallop adductor muscles, and completed it in October. The share price was ¥6.02bn (~USD 40mn), or about ¥6.06bn including acquisition-related costs, implying an equity value of ¥8.6bn (~USD 57mn) for 100%. YS Foods’ revenue for the fiscal year ended July 2022 was ¥16.9bn (~USD 112mn), with operating profit of ¥1.63bn (~USD 10.9mn). Two shareholders of the Sakamoto family retained the remaining 30%.

Yoshimura states that it keeps the names and brands of acquired companies and supports them as a group. It has also acquired all shares of Hosokawa Foods (Kanonji, Kagawa; established 1963), a frozen food maker, in 2022, and of Fukyo Foods (Noda, Chiba), a maker of spring roll wrappers, in 2024. The sellers were the heirs of Hosokawa Foods’ former owner and the owner’s asset management company of Fukyo Foods, respectively.

This transaction shows that (i) the owners sold 70% rather than all shares and joined a listed group while retaining 30%, (ii) the 100% equity value of ¥8.6bn was about 5.3x operating profit (calculated from disclosed figures), and (iii) a roll-up acquirer has bought companies from an owner’s heirs (Hosokawa Foods) and from an owner’s asset management company (Fukyo Foods).

Case 4: Ebara Foods Industry and Yamakin (2022) — An owner-run company acquired for its sachet-packing technology

In April 2022, Ebara Foods Industry agreed, through its subsidiary Ebara Business Management, to acquire all shares of Yamakin (Yaizu, Shizuoka; established 1948), a maker of liquid seasonings, and completed the acquisition in May. The sellers were president Kenichiro Yamanaka (94.9%) and Tsuneko Yamanaka (5.1%), and the price was not disclosed. Ebara cited Yamakin’s technology for small-sachet products and its flexibility in small-lot production, growing demand for small-portion products as Japan’s population ages and households shrink, and stronger production capacity for household, foodservice and overseas markets.

This transaction shows that (i) a listed company in the same segment acquired a seasoning maker wholly owned by its owners, and (ii) the acquirer valued a specific manufacturing technology (small sachets) and small-lot flexibility rather than the target’s size.

Case 5: House Foods Group and Malony (2017) — A Kansai brand acquired by a major

In July 2017, House Foods Group agreed to acquire all shares of Malony (Suita, Osaka; established 1955), the maker of the Malony starch noodle brand, and made it a wholly owned subsidiary in August. The seller was Yoshimura Shoten (unrelated to Yoshimura Food Holdings), a company wholly owned by Malony’s president Yukie Kawachi, which had consolidated the other shareholders’ shares before the sale. Malony’s revenue for the fiscal year ended July 2016 was ¥2.7bn (~USD 18mn), with operating profit of ¥200mn (~USD 1.3mn). House Foods Group cited the opportunity to develop, in Japan and abroad, a “healthy and convenient” starch noodle brand based on a patented process. In April 2022, Malony’s household business other than chilled products was transferred to House Foods.

This transaction shows that (i) the owner consolidated the shares in a company she wholly owned and then sold all of them to a major, and (ii) the acquirer’s rationale was a product brand backed by a patented process.

Case 6: Nisshin Flour Milling and Kumamoto Flour Milling (agreed 2022, completed 2023) — A regional miller and long-standing partner acquired

In June 2022, Nisshin Seifun Group announced that its subsidiary Nisshin Flour Milling would acquire 85.0% of the voting rights of Kumamoto Flour Milling (Kumamoto; established 1947), and made it a subsidiary in January 2023. The two companies had been business partners since 2011, and Nisshin Seifun Group cited improved cost competitiveness and responsiveness to the market. After the acquisition, Kumamoto Flour Milling’s revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2025 was ¥11.9bn (~USD 79mn).

This transaction shows that (i) the industry leader brought a regional peer under its ownership after more than 10 years of business partnership, and (ii) it acquired 85% rather than all shares.

Case 7: Q’SAI, acquired by Advantage Partners, Tokyo Century and Euglena (agreed 2020, executed 2021) — A fund and a strategic jointly acquire a group carve-out

In December 2020, Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings agreed to sell all shares of health food company Q’SAI to Q-Partners, an acquisition vehicle owned by an Advantage Partners fund (67.22%), Tokyo Century (19.94%) and Euglena (12.84%). The sale was executed in February 2021 at an enterprise value of ¥42.0bn (~USD 280mn). Q’SAI’s FY2019 revenue was ¥25.0bn (~USD 166mn), with EBITDA (operating profit plus depreciation and amortization) of ¥4.34bn (~USD 29mn). In May 2021, Euglena exercised an option to raise its stake in Q-Partners to 49% and consolidated Q’SAI. Euglena holds a call option on the remaining interest, and its stake was 49% as of August 2026.

This transaction shows that (i) a large group sold a non-core food business to a vehicle jointly owned by a fund and a strategic, (ii) the structure allowed the strategic to start with a minority stake and increase it in stages, and (iii) the enterprise value was about 9.7x EBITDA (calculated from disclosed figures).

Case 8: D Capital, Oyatsu Company and Kabaya Foods (2022 and 2024) — Fund investment in long-established confectionery makers

Oyatsu Company (established 1948), the maker of Baby Star Ramen snacks, was majority-acquired by Carlyle in 2014 and sold by Carlyle to a D Capital fund in December 2022. In May 2024, D Capital also invested through its fund in Kabaya Foods (Okayama; established 1946), a confectionery maker within the Nihon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings group. Kabaya Foods explained that, while seeking growth in Japan and abroad, it chose D Capital as a partner that would carry on its founding philosophy and draw out its growth potential. The size of the stake was not disclosed.

This transaction shows that (i) funds have invested in long-established confectionery makers, through a secondary purchase from another fund (Oyatsu Company) and through a capital participation in a company within a corporate group (Kabaya Foods), and (ii) Kabaya Foods described its choice of partner in terms of growth and continuity of its founding philosophy.

Case 9: Marunouchi Capital and Nagatanien Holdings (2024) — A management buyout with the founding family and a fund

In June 2024, Nagatanien Holdings announced a tender offer at ¥3,100 per share for a management buyout supported by a Marunouchi Capital fund, and was delisted after the offer succeeded. The offer price represented a 39.45% premium to the prior day’s close, and the equity value for 100% was about ¥54.2bn (~USD 361mn). After the transaction, the fund was expected to hold about 55.5%, the Nagatani family about 34.5% and Mitsubishi Corporation about 10.0%. Nagatanien explained that going private would allow it to make decisions flexibly, without pressure from short-term results, as it pursued overseas expansion, brand renewal, new businesses and M&A.

This transaction shows that (i) a listed food maker went private with the founding family and a fund investing together, and (ii) the structure kept more than one-third of the equity with the founding family.

Other private equity transactions include Asahi Group Holdings’ sale of beverage maker LB to a Polaris Capital Group fund in 2017 and JAFCO’s investment in frozen cake maker Nitto Sweets (Utsunomiya) in 2019.

4. Foreign Capital in Japanese Food Manufacturing — Out-In Transactions

Case 10: PepsiCo and Calbee (2009) — A long-term minority stake by a global food major

In June 2009, Calbee announced a capital and business alliance with PepsiCo. Calbee issued new shares to PepsiCo, which took a 20% stake in the enlarged company and appointed one director. In exchange, PepsiCo contributed the Frito-Lay Japan business and cash. The two companies cited the complementarity of Calbee’s potato snacks and shrimp crackers with PepsiCo’s corn-based snacks, the integration of research and development, a nationwide sales network and greater purchasing scale. In its annual securities report for the fiscal year ended March 2025, Calbee lists PepsiCo, which indirectly holds 21.4% of the voting rights, as an “other affiliated company” and capital alliance partner.

This transaction shows that (i) a global food major has held a minority stake in a Japanese snack maker for more than 15 years, and (ii) the stake was acquired in exchange for contributing PepsiCo’s own Japanese business.

Case 11: Danone and Yakult (stake reduced in 2018, sold in 2020) — A minority stake and a continuing partnership

Danone held about 21% of Yakult Honsha and reduced its stake to about 6.6% in 2018. In October 2020, Danone announced the sale of its remaining stake through an accelerated bookbuilding, citing capital allocation discipline and the strengthening of its balance sheet. Danone stated that its cooperation with Yakult in probiotics, which began in 2004, and the two companies’ joint ventures in India and Vietnam would continue.

This transaction shows that (i) a global food major exited a minority stake in a Japanese food maker through the market, and (ii) the business partnership continued after the capital relationship ended.

Case 12: Meihua and Kyowa Hakko Bio’s amino acid business (agreed 2024, completed 2025) — A Chinese strategic acquires a carve-out from a Japanese group

In November 2024, Kyowa Hakko Bio, a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings, agreed to carve out its amino acid and human milk oligosaccharide businesses through a corporate split and sell them to Plum Biotechnology Group, a Singapore vehicle of China’s Meihua group, for about ¥10.5bn (~USD 70mn) in cash. Kyowa Hakko Bio’s company-wide revenue for the fiscal year ended December 2023 was ¥24.0bn (~USD 160mn), and Kirin expected to record losses and one-time costs of about ¥29bn (~USD 193mn) on the sale. Kirin cited the long-term earnings outlook for the amino acid market and Meihua’s manufacturing quality. The sale was completed on July 1, 2025.

This transaction shows that (i) a Japanese group sold a non-core food ingredient business to an overseas strategic for which the business is core, and (ii) the business was separated through a corporate split before the sale.

Case 13: Diageo-backed Distill Ventures and Komasa Jozo (2021) — A minority investment in a family-owned producer

In September 2021, Komasa Jozo, a family-owned shochu producer then in its 138th year, announced a minority investment from Distill Ventures, a drinks accelerator backed by Diageo, in its Kanosuke Distillery (established 2017). Komasa Jozo retained the majority and management control, and the agreement set out a path to a 50:50 joint venture depending on future performance. The funds were to be used for capacity expansion, new products and overseas sales and marketing.

This transaction shows that (i) a foreign beverage group’s investment vehicle entered a family-owned Japanese producer through a minority stake, and (ii) the structure tied any increase in the foreign partner’s stake to the business’s future performance.

Case 14: Carlyle, Oyatsu Company and Orion Breweries (2014–2025) — Foreign private equity ownership and exits

Carlyle acquired a majority of Oyatsu Company in 2014 and sold it to Japanese fund D Capital in 2022 (Case 8). In 2019, Okinawa-based Orion Breweries (Tomigusuku; established 1957) received a tender offer at ¥79,200 per share from a company owned by Nomura Capital Partners (51%) and Carlyle (49%), in which 84.21% of the voting rights were acquired. The then chairman also invested. The acquirers cited growth through their domestic and international networks and management support, and the building of the next generation of management. Orion Breweries listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in September 2025, and the two funds sold shares in the offering.

These transactions show that (i) a global private equity firm has owned Japanese food and beverage makers, alone or with a Japanese co-investor, and (ii) its exits took the form of a sale to another fund and an IPO.

Cases 10 to 14 show that foreign capital has entered Japanese food manufacturing through minority stakes and alliances (Cases 10, 11 and 13), the acquisition of a carve-out (Case 12) and private equity ownership (Case 14). In the research for this article, we did not find a disclosed case of a foreign strategic acquiring a majority of a family-owned Japanese food maker.

5. Japanese Food Majors Abroad — In-Out Transactions

For overseas companies, Japanese food majors are potential acquirers of their businesses and potential partners. Their recent transactions show what they buy, on what rationale and at what price levels. The multiples below are reference values calculated from disclosed figures; their bases (equity value or enterprise value, operating profit or EBITDA) differ by case, so they are not comparable across cases.

Case 15: Kagome and Ingomar Packing (2024) — An investee US tomato processor made a subsidiary

In January 2024, Kagome acquired an additional 50% of Ingomar Packing Company in California, in which it had held 20% since 2016, raising its stake to 70% and making Ingomar a consolidated subsidiary. The additional investment was USD 243.3mn (~¥36bn). Ingomar ranks second in the US and fourth worldwide in primary tomato processing, with revenue of USD 310.5mn and operating profit of USD 55.0mn for the fiscal year ended June 2023. The acquisition raised Kagome group’s annual primary-processing capacity to 2.23 million metric tons and its global rank from 14th to 3rd. Kagome cited the strengthening of its US tomato-processing value chain and global procurement network. Kagome’s results for the fiscal year ended December 2024 (revenue ¥306.8bn, or ~USD 2.0bn, and business profit ¥27.1bn, or ~USD 181mn) exceeded, one year early, its 2025 targets including Ingomar (revenue ¥300bn and business profit ¥19.4bn).

This transaction shows that (i) a Japanese major acquired the upstream primary-processing stage abroad, (ii) the acquisition proceeded in stages, from a minority stake to a majority, and (iii) the implied 100% equity value was about 8.8x operating profit (calculated from disclosed figures).

Case 16: Itoham Yonekyu Holdings and Greenlea (2026) — A family-owned New Zealand beef processor

In June 2026, Itoham Yonekyu Holdings agreed, through its New Zealand subsidiary ANZCO Foods, to acquire all shares of Greenlea Group (Hamilton; established 1982), a beef processor with two plants on the North Island, owned by six shareholder groups led by the Egan family. The consideration is about NZD 800mn (~¥76bn) on an enterprise value basis. Greenlea’s revenue for the fiscal year ended September 2025 was NZD 615mn, with operating profit of NZD 55mn. New Zealand’s Commerce Commission cleared the transaction in August 2026, and completion was scheduled for the end of August 2026. Itoham Yonekyu cited maximizing the value of ANZCO’s business and strengthening its overseas operations under its long-term strategy.

This transaction shows that (i) a Japanese major acquired a peer in the same region through an existing overseas subsidiary, (ii) the seller was a family-led group of shareholders, and (iii) the enterprise value was about 14.5x operating profit (calculated from disclosed figures).

Case 17: Nissui and Pesquera Yadrán (completed January 2026) — A Chilean salmon farmer

In December 2025, Nissui announced that its Chilean subsidiary Salmones Antártica would acquire all shares of Pesquera Yadrán (Puerto Montt; established 1966), which farms, processes and sells Atlantic salmon with annual production of about 30,000 metric tons, and completed the acquisition on January 15, 2026. Under its GOOD FOODS 2030 vision, Nissui positions aquaculture as a growth area. Adding Atlantic salmon to its trout and coho salmon creates a three-species platform, and Nissui aims for annual production of more than 80,000 metric tons by 2030.

This transaction shows that (i) a Japanese major expanded aquaculture capacity, a growth area under GOOD FOODS 2030, through an acquisition abroad, and (ii) the objective was to strengthen the raw-material stage by adding species and volume.

Case 18: House Foods Group and Keystone Natural Holdings (2022), Morinaga & Co. and My/Mochi (2026) — Entry into growing US categories

In September 2022, House Foods Group announced the acquisition of all shares of Keystone Natural Holdings (established 2016), a US maker of tofu and plant-based meat alternatives, at an enterprise value of USD 110mn (~¥15.2bn). The sellers included Keystone Capital. Keystone’s 2021 revenue was USD 55.4mn, with EBITDA of USD 2.8mn. In March 2026, Morinaga & Co. resolved to acquire all shares of the holding company of The Mochi Ice Cream Company, which makes and sells My/Mochi, a brand that Morinaga describes as holding the top share of the US mochi ice cream market. The target’s revenue for the fiscal year ended June 2025 was USD 60mn, and the price was not disclosed.

These transactions show that (i) Japanese majors have acquired manufacturers in product categories with expected growth in the US, and (ii) Keystone’s enterprise value was about 39x EBITDA and about 2.0x revenue (calculated from disclosed figures), which suggests that business growth rather than current earnings drove the valuation in that case.

Case 19: Fuji Oil and Blommer Chocolate (2019) — A family-owned US industrial chocolate maker

In November 2018, Fuji Oil Holdings agreed to acquire all shares of Blommer Chocolate Company (Chicago; founded 1939) at an enterprise value of USD 750mn (~¥85bn), and completed the acquisition in January 2019. The seller was the Blommer family, which held all of the shares. Blommer is an industrial chocolate maker serving North America, with revenue of USD 907mn and management-adjusted EBITDA of USD 56mn for the fiscal year ended May 2018. Fuji Oil cited entry into North America, expertise in sustainable cocoa sourcing and integration of raw-material procurement, and Blommer’s management remained in place after the acquisition.

This transaction shows that (i) a Japanese food ingredient maker entered North America by acquiring a family-owned company, (ii) the seller’s management continued to run the business after the sale, and (iii) the enterprise value was about 13.4x adjusted EBITDA (calculated from disclosed figures).

6. Industry-Specific Factors Examined by Acquirers

In acquisitions of Japanese food manufacturers, acquirers examine industry-specific factors in addition to financials. Based on the reasons and synergies disclosed by the acquirers in the cases above, these factors fall into three groups.

Products and technology — The brands a company owns and the processes and technologies behind them. The acquirer in Case 5 cited a starch noodle brand based on a patented process, and the acquirer in Case 4 cited small-sachet technology and small-lot flexibility. STI Food Holdings’ acquisition of Hamashin aimed to obtain Hamashin’s 100-year-old Aji no Hamafuji brand.
Sales — Key customers and channels, and their concentration. The target in Case 1 was a convenience-store food maker whose main customer is Seven-Eleven Japan, and the acquirer was a specialist in the same category. PepsiCo and Calbee cited a nationwide sales network as an aim of their alliance (Case 10).
Production and raw-material sourcing — Plants and equipment, employees, and proximity to raw-material sources. In Case 1, the land, buildings and equipment of the plants were part of the sale, and in Case 2 the packaged bread manufacturing and sales business and its 599 employees moved into the successor company. In Cases 3, 15, 16 and 17, processing and production bases located at the source of the raw material (scallops, tomatoes, beef and salmon) were the objects of acquisition.

7. Implications for Overseas Acquirers

Target universe

In Japan food manufacturing M&A, large groups have sold non-core food businesses (Cases 1, 7 and 12), and owner-run companies have been sold to listed peers and roll-up acquirers (Cases 3 to 5). Japanese funds are also active buyers (Cases 8 and 9). Overseas buyers have acquired a carve-out (Case 12) and taken minority stakes (Cases 10, 11 and 13). Most targets in these cases were businesses within large groups or owner-held, non-listed companies. Identifying such targets requires research beyond public databases, and approaching them requires direct contact with parent companies or owners, in Japanese.

Transaction structures

The cases show several structures: majority acquisitions with the owners retaining a stake (Case 3), carve-outs of a business through a corporate split (Cases 2 and 12), joint acquisitions by a fund and a strategic with options to increase the strategic’s stake (Case 7), take-privates in which the founding family reinvests alongside a fund (Case 9), minority investments with a performance-based path to a larger stake (Case 13), and minority stakes later increased to a majority (Case 15). The appropriate structure depends on the intentions of the parent company or owner and on the acquirer’s integration plan.

What sellers emphasize

House Foods Group, as a parent-company seller, stated that Delica Chef could grow under a specialist in the same category. Companies receiving investment emphasized continuity and growth: Kabaya Foods chose a partner that would carry on its founding philosophy, Nagatanien sought freedom from short-term pressure while the founding family kept a large stake, and Komasa Jozo kept the majority while opening a path to a joint venture. In their public statements, these sellers and investee companies emphasized the business’s growth and continuity alongside the transaction terms.

8. Syntax Partners

Syntax Partners is a Japan-based M&A advisory firm that acts solely as financial advisor. In any transaction, we advise one side only, either the buyer or the seller. We advise on Japan food manufacturing M&A in both domestic and cross-border transactions.

Buy-side advisory

For foreign companies considering acquisitions or capital alliances in Japan, we support the full process: mapping targets based on their strategy, including non-listed owner-run companies and businesses within Japanese corporate groups; approaching owners and parent companies directly; negotiation; and execution. We work in Japanese and English, among other languages.

Sell-side advisory

As an advisor that maximizes the interests of sellers and owners, we support Japanese owners and parent companies considering a sale or business succession. The buyer universe we cover includes not only Japanese food manufacturers but also roll-up acquirers, private equity, and overseas strategic buyers. Our transaction support draws on our understanding of the industry, including brands and production processes, key customers and channels, and plants and raw-material sourcing.

Selected engagements are listed in our Track Record.

We welcome discussions at any stage, from early-stage exploration of acquisitions or partnerships in Japan to live transactions.

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This article was prepared by Syntax Partners, Inc. based on public information, including companies’ official announcements, IR materials and government statistics.