Starbucks To Take Over Full Control Of Starbucks Coffee Japan
September 23, 2014 – Starbucks Corporation acquires remaining 60.5% of Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. Japan is the second largest market for the coffee chain. With the completion of the acquisition, Starbucks expects to accelerate growth across channels in Japan. Starbucks will provide two payments to acquire full Starbucks Japan. The first payment is to Sazaby company the amount of 55 billion yen (~ $505 million US dollars); and the second payment to buy the remaining shares would be from the public shareholders and option holders of Starbucks Japan’s common stock for the full price of 44.5 billion yen (~ $408.5 million US dollars). (Document disclosure).
The king of coffee entered Japan in 1995 with a joint venture between Sazaby League that operates branded retail stores located in Japan. The first store in Japan was located in Tokyo’s Ginza district. With many customer based in Japan Starbucks plans to grow more in the country.
In the summer of 2014, Sazaby approached Starbucks to sell it’s Japan ownership stake and exit the business smoothly. Sazaby was part of the coffee powerhouse for nearly two decades. Sazaby is a holding company made of corporate operations in industries such as foods, clothing, wholesale, and more. (Sazaby Profile).
The Two Entities:
Starbucks: Since 1971, The chain produced and served high quality roasted Arabica coffee. Today, there are many stores across the world. (Starbucks Website).
Starbucks Japan: is a joint venture partnership formed in 1995. In Japan, there are more than 1,000 stores currently which employs approximately 25,000 people on the job. (The Sazaby League Website).
Company History:
The company was founded by Jerry Baldwin (English teacher), Zev Seigl (History teacher), and Gordon Bowker (Writer). The three founders were interested in selling high quality coffee beans, and owning a coffee shop. The company entered the tea sector in 1999 with the acquisition of Tazo brand for $8.1 million US dollars.
In 2003, the company entered the bottled water business with the acquisition of Ethos company.
Listed in the NASDAQ with the symbol “SBUS”.