FRANCE: Kirin strengthens Pernod tie with SIAL stake
Japan's second-largest beer maker, Kirin Brewery Co Ltd, said today that, in order to strengthen its ties with French drinks group Pernod Ricard, it had acquired a 32.4% stake in SIFA, which holds 10.2% of Pernod Ricard's capital. Kirin would not reveal the financial cost of the acquisition in SIFA, or Societe Immobiliere et Financiere Pour L'Alimentation, which would indirectly represent a 3.3% stake in Pernod Ricard, but the Jiji news agency said it paid more than 20 billion yen (US$155m).