Loan for Acquisition of Australian Company Blackmores Limited by Kirin Holdings Company, Limited
Supporting Overseas M&A of Japanese Company

• Region: Oceania
• Manufacturing and Services
• Overseas Investment Loans

1. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: HAYASHI Nobumitsu) signed on December 18 a loan agreement amounting to JPY30 billion (JBIC portion) with Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (Kirin). The loan is co-financed with Mizuho Bank, Ltd., bringing the total co-financing amount to JPY50 billion.
     
2. The loan is intended to finance part of the funds necessary for Kirin to acquire Australian company Blackmores Limited (Blackmores).
     
3. Kirin positions the Health Science domain as a pillar of next-generation growth. In the Kirin Group 2022-2024 Medium-Term Business Plan, the company called for raising the recognition of Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma (LC-Plasma)^*1, increasing sales, and scaling up its business through M&As. By acquiring Blackmores, which manufactures and sells health foods, such as supplements, across the Asia Pacific region, Kirin aims to deploy the products made of its unique, high-quality ingredients, including LC-Plasma, on a global level. This loan supports the overseas business deployment of Kirin, a Japanese company, by providing necessary funds for M&As and, thereby, supports the overseas expansion of existing business, as well as new business deployment, and contributes toward maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industries.
     
4. As Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to support overseas M&A activities of Japanese companies and their overseas business expansion in collaboration with private financial institutions.
     

Note

1. *1 
   LC-Plasma activates the entire immune system by directly stimulating pDCs (plasmacytoid dendritic cells), leaders of the immune system. LC-Plasma were discovered by Kirin in 2010.