Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp. has continued its expansion into consumer-goods sectors with the news today (30 January) of an alliance with local meat firms Itoham Foods and Yonekyu Corp.
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The deal will see the three companies work together on production, procurement and distribution, Mitsubishi said.
“Itoham has a nationwide production and distribution network and is strong in consumer products, while Yonekyu has a competitive edge in food products for foodservice use,” Mitsubishi said.
“Meanwhile, [Mitsubishi] possesses the ability to procure everything from feed grain to meat on a global basis.”
Mitsubishi added that it believed the deal would “lift the corporate value” of all three companies.
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By GlobalDataSeparately, Mitsubishi also announced that it had decided to up its stake in Itoham from 3.63% to 20.06%.
Mitsubishi said it had increased its holding after subscribing to a private placement of shares in Itoham and buying a tranche of shares from Kenichi Ito, the company’s chairman.
Itoham is expected to incur a consolidated net loss of JPY1.5bn (US$16.7m) this fiscal year after sales fell in the wake of a food safety scare last year. In October, Itoham said that underground water used at one of its plants was contaminated with a toxic substance.
Mitsubishi, which has interests in chemicals, finance and logistics, has looked to diversify into consumer goods in recent months.
In December, the company signed a deal to work with Aeon on streamlining the Japanese retailer’s distribution network and procuring raw materials and products globally.
