Sapporo to Dispose of Stone Brand Assets, Restructure US Production
Sapporo (TYO:2501) has agreed to transfer the Stone brand's intellectual property rights and related hospitality assets held by its U.S. subsidiary, Stone Brewing, to Firestone Walker and another Duvel Moortgat NV subsidiary.The company will also restructure its U.S. production by positioning the Richmond plant as its core Sapporo brand base and ceasing manufacturing at the Escondido plant by year-end, according to a Tokyo bourse filing on Tuesday.These measures aim to concentrate resources on the rapidly growing Sapporo brand amid a declining U.S. beer market and challenging operating conditions.As a result, Sapporo expects to recognize a gain on transfer of 3.6 billion yen while posting impairment losses and related expenses of 12.6 billion yen for the six months ending June 30.The company anticipates a negligible impact on its full-year consolidated earnings forecast, as certain structural reform costs had already been factored in.