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ValueAct Calls for an Extraordinary General Meeting of Takara Holdings to Strengthen the Board and Hold Incumbent Outside Directors Accountable for Failure to Supervise Management

Business Wire

  • Sees significant untapped potential in Takara Holdings that more focused strategy and management execution could unlock.

  • Seeks to hold incumbent Outside Directors accountable for the long-term underperformance of the Company and the Board's persistent failure to effectively supervise management.

  • Proposes the election of three independent and highly qualified Outside Director candidates and the removal of three incumbent Outside Directors.

SAN FRANCISCO & TOKYO, October 22, 2026--ValueAct Capital ("ValueAct"), which manages funds holding approximately 39.4 million shares of Takara Holdings Inc. ("Takara Holdings", "the Company") representing approximately 20.0% of the Company's outstanding shares, announces that ValueAct Japan Master Fund, L.P., has formally demanded that Takara Holdings convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

ValueAct invested in Takara Holdings with a strong belief in the Company's long-term growth and value creation potential, and an appreciation for Takara Shuzo's strong brands and stable cash flow, the growth in the Japanese food wholesale industry, and the high profitability of Takara Holdings' bourbon whiskey business (Age International, a strategic partnership with Sazerac) that now accounts for over 60% of the Company's consolidated operating profit.1 Over more than six years, ValueAct has engaged constructively with Takara Holdings in an attempt to encourage the company to focus its strategy and improve execution. However, the Company's unfocused strategy and poor execution have persisted, resulting in missed targets, missed opportunities, and weak corporate value creation over many years:

  • Takara Holdings' last Medium-Term Management Plan concluded in March 2026 and missed every financial target.2

  • The businesses in high growth industries, Takara Bio and Japanese food wholesale, have suffered from weak execution and declining profitability.

  • Takara Holdings' return on equity declined to 4.6% last fiscal year and management's forecast is for return on equity to remain below 5.0% this fiscal year.3

  • Takara Holdings' share price has underperformed the market and its peers over the medium to long-term.

The Board's oversight failures and rejection of substantive engagement with ValueAct

In response to the long track record of underperformance at Takara Holdings, ValueAct has requested over the course of its engagement that the Company study whether it still has the optimal medium to long-term strategy, business portfolio, and governance structure through a process that aligns with best practices for independence and robustness. The Board's response was to engage with ValueAct in form but not in substance, while also taking action to maintain the status quo.

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