Kirin bids to make Fancl wholly-owned subsidiary

Major Japanese beverage firm Kirin Holdings has announced a tender offer for the shares of health food and cosmetics maker Fancl that it does not already own.

The 1.4 billion dollar bid to make Fancl a wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary comes as sales growth slows for Kirin's key beer products.

Kirin says it wants to boost global sales at its health-related businesses to more than three billion dollars by the 2030's.

The beverage giant is already the biggest shareholder in Fancl. It paid about 130 billion yen, or 822 million dollars for a 33 percent stake in 2019.

Kirin, hopes to complete the acquisition by the end of this year.

It acquired Australian health-food firm Blackmores in August last year to gain a foothold in the sector in Asia Pacific markets.