Japanese beer makers Kirin Holdings and Suntory on Monday scrapped a plan to create one of the world's largest food and beverage makers, failing to agree on how much say Suntory would have in the merged firm and sending Kirin's shares down 8 percent.
 
The talks were never seen as a done deal, with much of the focus on how Kirin would value privately held Suntory and how large a stake Suntory's founding family would take in the merged company, which would have had annual sales of $40 billion.Suntory's founding family, which includes company president Nobutada Saji, holds about 90 percent of the firm.
Some analysts said the breakdown in talks may be the best outcome for Kirin."This is not that much of a negative for Kirin, since the risks that come with a merger, including issues about the merger ratio and corporate governance, have been weighing on Kirin's share price," said Tomonobu Tsunoyama, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.But he added that it was a blow to the Japanese beverage sector.
Kirin said it was not able to agree with Suntory on how to ensure management independence and transparency in the merged company. Suntory said in a separate statement that the companies could not agree on a merger ratio and other issues.
Kirin is the maker of "Ichibanshibori" beer and "Afternoon Tea" bottled drinks, while Suntory is known for its "Premium Malt's" beer and "Boss" canned coffee.

Source: flex-news-food.com