TOKYO, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, announced today that it will form a strategic alliance with Calbee Foods Company to jointly produce and sell a wide range of food products in Japan, such as potato chips, vegetable snacks, breakfast cereal and prawn crackers.
The agreement was approved today by shareholders of Calbee, Japan's largest snack company. Under the agreement, PepsiCo will contribute its Frito-Lay Japan business plus an undisclosed amount of cash to Calbee. Calbee in turn will issue new stock to PepsiCo, which will result in PepsiCo owning 20 percent of the expanded company and having a seat on the Calbee board of directors. Together, the businesses currently generate annual revenues of approximately $1.4 billion. The strategic alliance is subject to approval of Japanese government authority.
"Calbee and PepsiCo share many qualities that will contribute to our mutual success, including our collective drive to satisfy consumer expectations and contribute to healthy lifestyles," said Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and chief executive officer. "We at PepsiCo have long admired Calbee as a well-managed company that uses innovative technology in pursuit of purity and simplicity and makes every effort to maximize the nutritional value of its products. We're delighted at the prospect of creating a market-leading company that will provide a broad range of foods to address the changing needs of consumers across Japan."
"The completion of this strategic alliance with PepsiCo represents a significant step forward in our strategy to accelerate our top line growth," said Yasuo Nakata, chief executive officer of Calbee. "We believe we have a huge opportunity to diversify our portfolio by offering products that reflect both Western and Japanese dietary cultures. By sharing experience and expertise with PepsiCo, we can enhance the quality of our products and quickly seize attractive growth opportunities. We will continue to satisfy the needs and expectations of our customers around the world in their search for quality products to meet their changing lifestyle needs."
Calbee and PepsiCo are highly complementary companies whose alliance is expected to provide a variety of strategic benefits to support their continued growth in Japan, including:
The expanded company will offer a strong portfolio of highly-regarded brands, including: Calbee potato chips, Kappa Ebisen prawn crackers, Jagarico and Jagabee premium potato snacks, Doritos tortilla chips, Cheetos corn snacks and Mike popcorn. The company also will offer vegetable snacks and breakfast cereals.
PepsiCo was advised in the transaction by Foxmark Strategic Partners in Tokyo.
About Calbee
Calbee Foods Co., Ltd. is a leading producer and distributor of snack foods in Japan. The company's core products include potato chips, vegetable snacks, shrimp crackers and Jagarico and Jagabee premium potato snacks. Currently the company boasts an overseas network of affiliated companies in Hong Kong, China, the United States and Thailand. It is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and employs approximately 5,000 as of March 2009. The company recorded revenues of over JPY 130 billion (approximately USD1.3 billion) during the fiscal year ended March 2009. The company continues to maintain its position as Japan's leader in the snack food industry, with several top-ranking brands such as Kappa Ebisen prawn crackers and Jagarico and Jagabee premium potato snacks to bolster the core snack business. Continually guided by the founding mission "Make the best use of nature's blessings to create flavor, enjoyment, and support for healthy lifestyle," it makes every effort to satisfy consumer needs and expectations across the world.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with 2008 annual revenues of more than $43 billion. The company employs approximately 198,000 people worldwide, and its products are sold in approximately 200 countries. Its principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods. The PepsiCo portfolio includes 18 brands that generate $1 billion or more each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo's commitment to sustainable growth, defined as Performance with Purpose, is focused on generating healthy financial returns while giving back to communities the company serves. This includes meeting consumer needs for a spectrum of convenient foods and beverages, reducing the company's impact on the environment through water, energy and packaging initiatives, and supporting its employees through a diverse and inclusive culture that recruits and retains world-class talent. PepsiCo is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.
PepsiCo Cautionary Statement
Statements in this release that are "forward-looking statements" are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends. They inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements. For additional information on these and other factors that could cause PepsiCo's actual results to materially differ from those set forth herein, please see PepsiCo's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. PepsiCo undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE: PepsiCo
Web site: http://www.pepsico.com/