 |
|
|
|||||
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, has resigned from the beverage group following a police investigation into his purchase of a supplement that may have breached the country’s strict drug laws. Niinami, who has served as an adviser to several Japanese prime ministers and was often the face of corporate Japan at Davos and other international events, told Suntory he purchased the supplement believing it was legal, the company said on Tuesday. The Tokyo Shimbun daily reported that police in Fukuoka prefecture are investigating whether supplements containing cannabis components had been sent to Niinami’s home a probe that is connected to a man who was arrested in July. Other Japanese media said the supplements allegedly contained THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, which is illegal in Japan. CBD, a separate chemical compound from the cannabis plant, however, is legal, and products containing it are available in Japan. Suntory, which makes whisky, beer and soft drinks such as Orangina-branded soda, said Niinami told the company he was the subject of a police investigation on August 22. He resigned on September 1. Reuters was not able to immediately reach Niinami for comment. Niinami, 66, significantly expanded Suntory’s revenue and profits, joining the drinks maker as president in 2014 shortly after it purchased U.S. spirits company Beam for $16 billion, including debt. “He was a bold, decisive leader who got things done and I truly respected him,” Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii told a press briefing. “In that respect and I told this to him yesterday as well it’s a real shame that we couldn’t continue as a team,” he said. Torii, a former banker and great-grandson of Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii, said he would now be fully helming the company. According to Tokyo Shimbun, police questioned Niinami and searched his Tokyo home, but no illegal drug possession or use has been confirmed. A Fukuoka Police official was not immediately available to comment on the reports. Niinami, a fluent English speaker, is chair of the powerful Keizai Doyukai business lobby. Known for being outspoken, he wasn’t hesitant to voice his opinion on how Japan’s economy should be managed or how the central bank should act. Keizai Doyukai officials were not immediately available for comment. A graduate of Harvard Business School, he was previously chief executive of convenience store operator Lawson before becoming Suntory’s president, the first head of the firm from outside its founding family. Japan has strict drug laws. Late last year, Japanese endoscope manufacturer Olympus Corp sacked then-CEO Stefan Kaufmann after an allegation that he had purchased illegal drugs. In 2015, police arrested Toyota Motor executive Julie Hamp, an American, on suspicion of illegally importing the painkiller oxycodone into the country. She was later released. Suntory is not publicly traded but shares in a listed unit, Suntory Beverage & Food, which manages its non-alcoholic beverages and food products business, were not overly affected, ending Tuesday up 3%. Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Kentaro Okasaka, Satoshi Sugiyama and Kathleen Benoza Anton Bridge and Mariko Katsumura, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
Swiss food giant Nestlé said Monday it dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate.The maker of Nescafé drinks and Purina pet food said in a statement the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found the undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate violated Nestlé’s code of conduct.Freixe, who had been CEO for a year, will be replaced by Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive.“This was a necessary decision,” said Chairman Paul Bulcke. “Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company.”The company didn’t give any other details about the investigation.Freixe had been with Nestlé since 1986, holding roles around the world. When Nestlé revamped its geographic structure in January 2022, Freixe became CEO of Zone Latin America. In August 2024, he was tapped to replace then-CEO Mark Schneider in the top role, and started Sept. 1, 2024.Navratil started his career with Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor and served in a variety of roles in Central America. In 2020, he joined Nestlé’s Coffee Strategic Business Unit, and in 2024, he became CEO of Nestlé’s Nespresso division.It’s the latest in a string of personnel changes for the company. In June, Bulcke, a former CEO who has been chairman of the board since 2017, said he wouldn’t stand for reelection in 2026. And in April, Steve Presley, an executive vice president and CEO of Zone Americas, said he was retiring after almost 30 years of service.Based in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé has been facing headwinds like other food makers, including rising commodity costs and the negative impact of tariffs. It said in July it offset higher coffee and cocoa-related costs with price increases. Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Klarna Group, the Swedish fintech startup known for its popular buy now, pay later services, has reveled the target share price for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO). In a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said it plans to offer roughly 34.3 million ordinary shares at a price ranging between $35 and $37, raising as much as $1.27 billion in an offering led by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. The IPO has been a long time coming. Klarna had been one of big winners of the early pandemic era’s online shopping boom, reportedly reaching a peak valuation of $45.6 billion in 2021, only to see that figure significantly reduced after stay-at-home restrictions were lifted and the world opened back up again. At its current target price, the company would have a valuation of roughly $14 billion, Reuters reports. Klarna intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol KLAR. No listing date was mentioned in the filing. A spokesperson for Klarna declined to comment. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}})}(); High-profile tech IPOs are a thing this year Earlier this year, Klarna reportedly put its IPO on hold in the wake of economic uncertainty brought on by President Trump’s tariff regime. But since then, a number of well-known tech companies have gone public with marked success, including stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, design software startup Figma, and crypto exchange Bullish. Despite those and other listings making headlines over the last few months, the global tech IPO market has remained muted. Proceeds from tech IPOs generated $6.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, compared to $34.9 billion for the same period in 2021, according to data from CB Insights. Founded in 2005, Klarna said it generated revenue of $2.8 billion last year, eking out a net profit of $21 million. That’s compared to revenue of $2.3 billion and a net loss of $244 million the year before. This story is developing…
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||