T Capital exits Japan confectionery business

Yamae, a listed conglomerate primarily active in food wholesale, said in a filing that it would acquire a 66% interest from T Capital. It already holds an interest in the company through Y&I Holdings, a joint venture established several years ago with Itochu Corporation. Y&I owns 28.9% of Confex, while Itochu, the parent of Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart, holds 5.1%.

T Capital invested in Confex in 2018 as part of a business succession solution. At the time, the firm was deploying its fifth fund, which closed on JPY 51.7bn in 2017, and was still controlled by Tokio Marine.

A spinout, and a rebranding, happened in 2019 and T Capital closed Fund VI on JPY 81bn in 2021. T Capital has traditionally targeted companies with USD 10m in EBITDA, but this was expected to rise in Fund VI.

Founded in 1903, Confex is described as a leading domestic wholesaler of confectionery products. Operations span product development and manufacturing, wholesale distribution, direct retail under the Yumeya brand, and imports. It has a nationwide procurement and sales network and deals with thousands of retailers, from convenience stores to supermarkets to drugstores.

Sales reached JPY 244.9bn for the 12 months ended March 2023, up from JPY 233.6bn a year earlier. Over the same period, net profit rose from JPY 1.1bn to JPY 1.2bn.

Yamae said the acquisition signalled its full-scale entry into confectionery distribution. Its sales amounted to JPY 587.9bn in the most recent financial year, of which JPY 394.5bn came from food-related businesses.

The company said in its 2023 business report that identifying profitable product segments and improving logistics efficiency are essential to addressing inflation and changing consumer habits.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Consumer
• Trade sale
• Japan
• T Capital Partners