Japanese farmed milk, corporate culture, investor activist

Even if Yakult Honsha in Japan knows its most famous product, a drink like probiotic yogurt with a red hat sold in many parts of the world, it is familiar to foreign investors. A company that may not exist.

The company is also an interesting study of Japanese corporate governance and the relationship between mid-sized listed companies (market capitalization of about $ 9 billion) and foreign investors. A good example: Relationship with VGI Partner, a global equity asset management company based in Australia. VGI owns about 1% of the company and accounts for about 4.5% and 6% of listed funds focused on global and Asia, respectively.

Yakult’s promise is easy to understand. Despite its existence since the 1930s, it is an increasingly trusted brand in the health-conscious market, with great room for expansion in both China and the United States.

However, it can be difficult to find a corporate governance drama that symbolizes occasional friction. Calm foreign investors And a traditional Japanese company.

Last week, VGI voted against management candidates for board. The youngest is 58 people. The board has been unmanned from two foreign members, a legacy of its relationship with Danone, which ended last year. Other Western investors also voted against this appointment. For example, Calvert Research and Management votes against a board of directors with a majority that is not independent.