JAPAN'S march to take over Australian and New Zealand beverage companies passed another milestone yesterday when the Foreign Investment Review Board gave its blessing for Kirin Holdings' bid for trans-Tasman brewer Lion Nathan.
The FIRB said it had no objections to Kirin's proposed acquisition of the 53.87 per cent of Lion Nathan it did not already own, by way of a scheme of arrangement for current shareholders.
Japanese companies have shelled out more than $6 billion over the past two years picking up leading beverage and food brands. This includes Suntory's acquisition of Frucor and Asahi's $1.185 billion purchase of Schweppes Australia.
Lion Nathan's independent directors agreed to a deal for Kirin to buy the shares for the equivalent of $12.22 each in April. The deal needs the support of at least 75 per cent of non-Kirin shareholders of Lion Nathan at a scheme meeting.
Lion Nathan expects the deal to be completed by October.