Heineken joint beer venture with Kirin fizzles out

Dec 02 (Nikkei) - Heineken will dissolve a joint venture of nearly four decades with Japan's Kirin Brewery, Nikkei has learned, with the Dutch beer maker deciding to fly solo in Japanese consumer sales starting next year.

Heineken will convert the joint venture, Heineken Kirin, into a wholly owned subsidiary. The name of the unit will be changed to Heineken Japan in April. Heineken controls 51% of the joint venture while Kirin owns the rest.

Under the joint venture, launched in 1984, Kirin handled sales of canned and bottled Heineken for the consumer market. Heineken will take over that role once the joint venture is dissolved. ...continue reading

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