Squire Patton Boggs has advised Japanese Takara Shuzo International Co., Ltd. on the acquisition of a majority stake in the German food wholesaler Kagerer & Co. GmbH.
With the acquisition of the 90% stake in Kagerer, Takara is pursuing a long-term strategy to strengthen its position in the German market and accelerate the development of new markets in Northern and Eastern Europe to build a global Japanese food wholesale network and thereby further promote the sale of sake. The acquisition was completed on 22 November 2024.
The team was led by Corporate partner Norman Wasse and senior associate Dr. Marion von Grönheim, supported by Takujiro Urabe, Miki Kamiya and Felix Strohecker (Corporate), Dr. Sandra Müller and Christoph Krieger (Intellectual Property & Technology), Tarek Khalil (Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Digital Assets), Dagmar Nolden (Labour & Employment), Andreas Lehmann (Financial Services), Dr. Christofer Eggers and Dr. Christian Böhler (International Dispute Resolution), Oliver Geiss and Lea-Theresa Voss (Competition-Antitrust), Dr. Matthias Werner (Real Estate), and Dr. Christian Bleschke (Tax Strategy & Benefits).
Takara Shuzo International Group, based in Kyoto, bolsters global awareness and acceptance of Japanese food culture by selling alcoholic beverages and wholesale Japanese food overseas. Takara Shuzo International Group manufactures a wide range of products and exports alcoholic beverages and seasonings to countries around the world.
Kagerer & Co. GmbH, based in Munich, is one of Germany's leading wholesalers and importers of Asian frozen and dry goods, delicatessen products and fresh produce. Kagerer employs around 100 people and generated sales of around EUR 105 million in the 2023 financial year.