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Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. (麒麟麦酒株式会社, Kirin Bīru Kabushiki-gaisha^?) (TYO: 2503, NASDAQ: KNBWY) is a Japanese company. It is a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu.

Overview[link]

Empty bottle of Kirin beer

Kirin sells two of the most popular beers in Japan: Kirin Lager, the country's oldest beer brand; and Ichiban Shibori. In the happoshu (low-malt) category, Kirin Tanrei is the top seller. Kirin handles domestic distribution for several foreign brands, including Budweiser and Heineken. Kirin's brewery operations also extend overseas, through strategic alliances, subsidiaries, and affiliates, to China, Taiwan, Australia, the Philippines, Europe, New Zealand and the United States. The company holds a 100%^[1] stake in Lion Nathan Limited, a consolidated subsidiary that is based in Australia but has particularly important operations in China. Kirin has a 48%^[2] stake in San Miguel Brewery, the dominant brewer in the Philippines. Kirin now applies its fermentation technology to areas such as plant genetics, pharmaceuticals, and bioengineering. Although brewing and related businesses remain the core of Kirin's activities, the company is also involved in several other sectors: hard liquor, wine, soft drinks, and food products.

In Japanese, "kirin" can refer to giraffes, or to Qilin, mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creatures. Kirin Brewery is named after the latter.

On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced that it was in negotiations with Suntory on a merger.^[3] On February 8, 2010, it was announced that negotiations between the two were terminated.^[4]

In 2010, Kirin made 23.4 percent of sales abroad, the highest abroad revenue among Japanese brewery.^[5]

On October 2011, the court has decided that Kirin can buy a majority stake in family-run Brazilian brewer Schincariol. Kirin will buy 50.45 percent of the stakes, valued at $2.6 billion.^[6]

Holdings[link]

Alcoholic beverage business[link]

• Kirin Distillery Co., Ltd. (Renamed from Kirin-Seagram Ltd. on July 1, 2002)
• Ei Sho Gen Co., Ltd.
• Kirin Communications Stage Co., Ltd.
• Heineken Japan Co., Ltd.

Soft drink business[link]

• Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd.
• Kinki Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd.

Logistics[link]

• Kirin Logistics Co., Ltd.

Engineering[link]

• Kirin Techno-System Co., Ltd.
• Kirin Engineering Co., Ltd.

Restaurants[link]

• Kirin Dining Co., Ltd.
• Kirin City Co., Ltd.

Real estate[link]

• Kirin Building Management Co., Ltd.
• Kirin Hotel Development Co., Ltd.

Others of core business[link]

• Kirin Echo Co., Ltd.

Nutrient food[link]

• Kirin Well-Foods Co., Ltd.
• Takeda-Kirin Foods Corporation
• Cosmo Foods Co., Ltd.

Agribio[link]

• Kirin Green & Flower Co., Ltd.
• Flower Gate, Inc.
• Flower Season Co., Ltd.
• Verdy Co., Ltd.
• Tokita Seed Co., Ltd.
• Japan Potato Corporation

Food[link]

• Nagano Tomato Co., Ltd.

Health[link]

• Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd.

Holdings, International[link]

Alcohol business[link]

• Four Roses Distillery (USA)
• Kirin Brewery of America LLC (USA)
• Kirin Europe GmbH (Germany)
• Lion Nathan Limited (Australia/New Zealand)
• Raymond Vineyard and Cellar, Inc. (USA)
• San Miguel Brewery (Philippines)
• Schincariol (Brazil)^[7]
• Taiwan Kirin Company, Ltd. (Taiwan)
• Zhuhai Kirin President Brewery Co., Ltd. (China)

Soft drink business[link]

• Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England^[8]
• Moxie

Pharmaceutical business[link]

• Kirin-Amgen, Inc. (USA)
• Gemini Science Inc. (USA)
• Hematech Inc. (USA)
• Jeil-Kirin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Korea)
• Kirin Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Taiwan)
• Kirin Pharmaceuticals (Asia) Co., Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• Kirin Kunpeng (China) Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (China)

Agribio business[link]

• Twyford International, Inc. (USA)
• Kirin Agribio EC B.V. (Paris Office) (France)
• Southern Glass House Produce Ltd. (England)
• Fides Holding B.V. (Netherlands)
• Barberet & Blanc, S.A. (Spain)
• Qingdao International Seeds Co., Ltd. (China)
• Germicopa S.A. (France)
• Kirin Agribio Shanghai Co., Ltd. (China)

Other business[link]

• Kirin Australia Pty. Ltd. (Australia)
• Indústria Agrícola Tozan Ltda. (Brazil)

See also[link]

• Beer in Japan
• Kirin Cup
• Hangzhou Qiandaohu Beer Co., Ltd. (Kirin owns a 25% share in this Chinese brewery)

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.kirinholdings.co.jp/english/news/2009/0511_01.html
2. ^ http://www.kirinholdings.co.jp/english/news/2009/0522_01.html
3. ^ キリン：サントリーと経営統合へ交渉 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞) Mainichi Shimbun (Retrieved on July 13, 2009)
4. ^ Termination of Merger Negotiation with Kirin Suntory News Release (Retrieved on February 8,2010)
5. ^ "Asahi Plans Southeast Asia Takeovers, Seeking Wider Margins". http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/asahi-may-buy-southeast-asia-drink-makers-following-rivals-growing-abroad.html. Retrieved December 16, 2011. 
6. ^ "Kirin wins Schincariol takeover court case". October 12, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15269798. 
7. ^ "Kirin Buys Remaining Shares of Brazil's Schincariol". 2011-11-04. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203716204577016774143596152.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-18. 
8. ^ Paiste, Denis (2007-04-06). "Moxie, same taste, new owner" (reprint). New Hampshire Union Leader (Union Leader Corporation): p. B3. http://newenglandpride.blogspot.com/2007/04/cornucopia-beverages-acquires-moxie.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Kirin Brewery Company

• (English) Official website
• (Japanese) Official website
• Kirin 100th Anniversary Beers

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