Itochu’s Consolidates wholesale Food Operations

Itochu Corporation’s decision to absorb Itochu Shokuhin for 78.4 billion JPY is less a family reunion than a bet on control in a squeezed wholesale market. By lifting its stake from 52.46% to 100% through a tender offer at 13,000 JPY per share, Itochu is trading stock-market scrutiny for speed. Once delisted, Itochu Shokuhin can be woven more tightly into the group’s overall logistics, retail media, and product-development machinery. Itochu has long maintained separate food wholesale operations to navigate the political challenge of supplying both its own FamilyMart retail business and Seven Eleven, without losing the vital business of working with Seven Eleven. Now, Itochu will be able to combine Itochu Shokuhin with Nippon Access, its largest wholesale business and gain the additional benefits of scale.