Japan's Katokichi, Japan Tobacco Dismiss Capital Alliance Report

Source from:  finanznachrichten.de TOKYO (Thomson Financial) 11/20/2007

Japanese tobacco producer Japan Tobacco Inc (Nachrichten) has denied a press report on Tuesday that it and instant noodle maker Nissin Food Products Co Ltd will make a joint bid for frozen food manufacturer Katokichi. 'Although there was a report that Japan Tobacco and Nissin will jointly acquire our company, it is not true,' Katokichi said in a statement. Japan Tobacco also issued a statement, saying that there was no truth to the report that it and Nissan had decided to acquire the food processor. 'It is not true that any decision that requires public disclosure has been made,' Japan Tobacco said. Without citing sources, the Nikkei reported earlier today that Japan Tobacco would launch a takeover bid for all of the outstanding shares in Katokichi. After the frozen food producer was de-listed, Japan Tobacco would have sold a 49 percent stake to Nissin, the report said. The three companies were expected to reach an agreement on the 100 billion yen acquisition this month, the Nikkei said. Due to a sharp decline in the domestic cigarette market, Japan Tobacco aimed to use the acquisition to make its food operations a core source of earnings, it said. Katokichi was hit by scandal earlier this year, revealing improper accounting practices while its subsidiary was later found to have used mislabelled ground beef from a processed-meat supplier. Nissin, which has more than 50 percent of the domestic instant noodle market, is looking to bolster its fresh and frozen food operations due to a saturated domestic instant noodle market. Enditem