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| Mergers and Acquisitions Also Taking Place among Specialized Trading Companies |
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Headquarters of Mitsubishi Corporation at Marunouchi, Tokyo |
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It has been some time since trading companies that specialize in fields such as steel, machinery, chemicals, textiles, pharmaceutical drugs and foods entered a period of winter-like hardship. For this reason, mergers and acquisitions have been taking place, one after another, among such specialized trading companies as well.
In April 2000, Kasho Co. Ltd., which was a mid-level trading company with strength in the food field, was acquired by Toyota Tsusho Corporation, a trading company that is part of the Toyota Group. At the same time, in the field of pharmaceutical drugs, Kuraya Corporation, Sanseido Co., Ltd. and Tokyo Pharmaceutical Company merged to become Kuraya Sanseido Inc. |
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In 2002, Suzuken Co., Ltd., a rival that was experiencing an intensified sense of crisis through the birth of Kuraya Sanseido, merged with Ohmori Co., Ltd. Pharmaceutical trading companies Azwell Inc. (now Alfresa Corporation) and VITAL-NET, Inc. have also gone through repeated mergers. There is a possibility that further reorganization of the specialized trading industry will be accelerated in the future through the market entry of foreign-affiliated companies and venture firms.
In December 2002, sogo shosha (general/integrated trading company) Tomen Corporation, whose losses through real estate and stock holdings had escalated, announced a restructuring plan that was based on the premise that a business merger with Toyota Tsusho would be made. The merger is expected to take place in 2006, and it should be seen as a major step towards the birth of the Toyota Shoji Trading Company. |
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