Kyorin Pharmaceutical has signed a share transfer agreement for the generics sale that follows the framework agreement Daito announced on April 24, 2026, which Tokyo Brief covered in an earlier article. The announcements dated September 30, 2026 fix who owns the buyer, which plants change hands, and what Kyorin keeps. The authorized-generics business stays inside the Kyorin group.
What is being sold
Kyorin agreed to sell all shares of its wholly owned generics subsidiary to a joint venture formed by Daito, Meiji Seika Pharma and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ). The three partners signed a joint venture agreement on September 30, and Kyorin signed the share transfer agreement with the venture's backers. The venture is to take over the buyer's position soon after it is set up.
Before the share sale, two corporate splits are planned, both effective March 31, 2027. The generics subsidiary is to absorb the business run at the Takaoka and Inami plants, which belong to a wholly owned Kyorin factory subsidiary. In the other direction, the generics subsidiary's authorized-generics business, excluding some sales operations, is to move to that factory subsidiary. The venture therefore takes the plant-linked business and leaves out the authorized generics. Kyorin's board resolved on both steps and on the share transfer.
The plants and the owners
Takaoka, in Toyama prefecture, covers 42,457 square meters, opened in 2024 and had 41 employees in March 2026. Inami, also in Toyama, covers 12,967 square meters, dates from 1975 and had 170 employees. The partners call Takaoka suited to large-volume production of few products, with a lot of space still unequipped, and plan to make it a model plant for consolidated production.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agreements signed | September 30, 2026 |
| Venture set up | December 2026 (planned) |
| Corporate splits effective | March 31, 2027 (planned) |
| Share transfer to venture | April 1, 2027 (planned) |
| Venture owners | Daito 49.1%, Meiji Seika Pharma 36.0%, DBJ 14.9% |
The venture is planned as a holding company with capital of ¥100mn, to be set up in December 2026 in Toyama city. Its net assets and total assets are undecided. It is to become an equity-method affiliate of both Daito and Meiji Seika Pharma. DBJ plans to invest by subscribing for class shares through its supply-chain resilience fund under its specific investment operations.
Timetable and gaps
The share transfer is scheduled for April 1, 2027. Kyorin's extraordinary report says the subsidiary would then cease to be a specified subsidiary, taking Kyorin's 6,013 voting rights, or 100.0%, to nil. Everything after September 30 is still a plan: the venture does not yet exist and the corporate splits are not effective.
The notice gives no sale price, and the number of shares to be transferred is listed as undecided. Meiji Holdings said the effect on its consolidated results for the year to March 2027 is minor and that it is not revising its forecast. The partners say the venture will work on consolidating plants and products, including merging manufacturing approvals and brand names, to ease generic supply shortages.