Baker McKenzie advises House Foods on its acquisition of Keystone Natural Holdings

Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) advised House Foods Holding USA, Inc. (House Foods) on its acquisition of Keystone Natural Holdings, LLC (Keystone), a US manufacturer of tofu and other plant-based products. The acquisition was completed at the end of September and Keystone became a specified subsidiary of the House Foods Group.

The House Foods Group Inc. (House Foods), one of Japan’s leading food manufacturers, has been operating a tofu business in the United States since 1983. In recent years, demand for tofu and other tofu products has been increasing due to increased health consciousness and a focus on foods with low environmental impact. Headquartered in Pennsylvania, Keystone is a manufacturer and marketer of plant-based products, such as tofu and meat substitutes, in the United States and Canada. House Foods currently operates two plants in the US and plans to build a third in Kentucky which will be operational by 2025, bringing the total number of production facilities in the US and Canada to eight when Keystone’s five facilities are included.

The Firm’s team was led by Akifusa Takada, co-Managing Partner and a member of the Tokyo office’s Corporate M&A Group, with the support of counsel Chizu Matsumaru.

Akifusa commented, “We are very honored to have been involved in the acquisition of a US company by House Foods, one of Japan’s leading food manufacturers. As sustainable practices become increasingly important at both the individual and corporate levels, we believe that this acquisition is an extremely important step in contributing to a sustainable society by strengthening the plant-based food product business, which is attracting attention due to both health concerns and the need to reduce humanity’s environmental impact. We are committed to supporting Japanese companies in their global endeavors by leveraging our firm’s top-class cross-border M&A know-how and experience.”