Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and KENKO Mayonnaise Co., Ltd., a Japanese food manufacturer, announced that they have jointly acquired 100% of the shares of Hans Kissle Company, LLC ("Hans Kissle"), a food manufacturing and sales company in Haverhill, Mass. The total investment is approximately $108 million, and the acquisition of the shares was completed through a special purpose company, MKU Holdings, Inc. ("MKU", Mitsui: 80%, KENKO Mayonnaise: 20%) on Dec. 31, 2018. The acquisition enhances Mitsui's offerings of value-added, prepared food products in the US food market.
Demand for food that is more safe, secure, and can be eaten without the hassle of preparation, is growing more than ever before. The food market in the US has expanded in recent years, driven by population growth and changing food preferences due to increasingly diverse consumer lifestyles. Amid this trend, the US prepared foods market is growing approximately 8% a year.
Hans Kissle, founded in 1984, develops, manufactures, and sells a wide range of high-quality, wholesale delicatessen main and side dishes, desserts, and other prepared foods for supermarkets and grocery stores in the Northeastern United States. Hans Kissle's strong track record in producing safe and secure food products, achieved through a high level of quality control built over decades, has enabled the company to steadily expand its business in the growing US prepared foods market.
The "Retail Services" is defined as part of the strategic growth area for Mitsui, as set forth in its Medium-term Management Plan announced in May 2017. Through these and other measures, Mitsui aims to reinforce Hans Kissle's market position and expand its reach, channels, and territory to evolve in the US prepared foods market.
