History Suntory

suntory headquarters, osaka, japan

suntory started shinjirō torii (鳥井 信治郎, torii shinjirō), first opened store torii shōten (鳥井商店) in osaka on february 1, 1899, sell imported wines. in 1907, store began selling sweet tasting red wine called akadama port wine. store became kotobukiya company in 1921 further expand business , in 1923, torii built japan s first malt whisky distillery yamazaki distillery. production began in december 1924 , 5 years later suntory whisky shirofuda (white label), first single malt whisky made in japan, sold.

due shortages during world war ii, kotobukiya forced halt development of new products, in 1946 re-released torys whisky, sold in post-war japan. in 1961, kotobukiya launched drink torys , go hawaii campaign. @ time, trip abroad considered once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. in 1963, kotobukiya changed name suntory , taken name of whisky produces. in same year, musashino beer factory began production of suntory beer. in 1997, company became japan s sole bottler, distributor, , licensee of pepsi products.

on april 1, 2009, suntory became stockholding company named suntory holdings limited (サントリーホールディングス株式会社) , established suntory beverage , food limited (サントリー食品株式会社), suntory products limited (サントリープロダクツ株式会社), suntory wellness limited (サントリーウェルネス株式会社), suntory liquors limited (サントリー酒類株式会社), suntory beer & spirits limited (サントリービア&スピリッツ株式会社), suntory wine international limited (サントリーワインインターナショナル株式会社), , suntory business expert limited (サントリービジネスエキスパート株式会社).

on july 14, 2009, kirin announced negotiating suntory on merger. on february 8, 2010, announced negotiations between 2 terminated.

in 2009 acquired orangina, orange soft drink 300 billion yen, , frucor energy drinks 600 million euros. on 2 july 2013 company debuted on tokyo stock exchange , raised us$4 billion in process.

in january 2014, suntory announced agreement buy largest u.s. bourbon producer, beam inc. us$16 billion. deal make suntory world s third largest spirits maker. acquisition completed on april 30, 2014, when announced beam renamed beam suntory.

also in january 2014, suntory purchased drinks division of british glaxosmithkline. included brands lucozade , ribena, however, deal did not include horlicks.