Mitsubishi to raise stake in Nosan feed

Mitsubishi Corp (MC) intends to make Nosan a consolidated subsidiary. MC
already has a 21% stake in Nosan.

In the food sector, MC is seeking to
strengthen the value chain by building a comprehensive network spanning the
entire chain, from sourcing of food materials at source to transportation and
processing and distribution and retail sales of the final products.

Nosan HQ is located in the tallest building in Japan,
Landmark Tower in Yokohama. Nosan has a history of about 70 years, and its main
business has always been making feed for livestock.

Three
divisions
Currently the company is divided into 3 divisions: Feed, Food
and Life-tech. Nosan makes about 2.33 million tonnes of feed annually in 4 feed
plants. It has about a 10% share in both livestock and aquafeeds in
Japan.

In the Food Division Nosan is famous for its “Hikari” iodine-eggs,
which are sold at premium prices in the supermarkets.

Horse feed and
petfood are consolidated in the Life-tech Division. For Horse feed Nosan has a
no. 1 position in Japan (50%+ market share).

Life-tech further consists
of biotechnology products and services. Nosan has 13 overseas bio-tech venture
companies.

Long partnership
MC and Nosan began their business
relationship in the trade of animal feed ingredients and formulated feed.
Subsequently, MC has helped it build a competitive production system. As a
partner in businesses producing, processing and selling beef in Japan, MC has a
longstanding, cordial business relationship with Nosan.

By making Nosan a
consolidated subsidiary MC and Nosan could make greater use of each other’s
capabilities. Nosan possesses animal feed technology, production facilities and
production infrastructure, while MC has the ability to procure raw materials for
animal feed, meat production and processing technology capabilities and
expertise in selling meat.

Mitsubishi Corporation is one of the world’s most diverse
enterprises, and Japan’s largest sogo shosha, or trading company.