TSGTY Tsingtao Brewery Ltd (PK)

TOKYO—The president of Suntory Holdings Ltd., Takeshi Niinami, said Thursday that the company was considering an initial public offering as one of a range of financing options aimed at helping the company keep pace with a consolidating global beverage industry.

Mr. Niinami said Anheuser-Busch InBev NV's planned takeover of SABMiller PLC "stimulated thinking" in the industry, in which Suntory last year signaled its intention of becoming a leading player through its $13.6 billion purchase of the maker of Jim Beam bourbon.

Mr. Niinami, who joined privately-held Suntory last year as its first president from outside the founding family, said the company would consider selling shares in the parent company or its distilled spirits unit, now called Beam Suntory.

"I should not rule out listing either one," he said in an interview, cautioning that any IPO wouldn't occur before 2018. Even then, he added, a public offering is only one of several financing options the company is considering. Other possibilities include deals with private-equity firms to invest in Suntory business units, or sales of noncore assets, he said.

"I do not stress the possibility of an IPO," he said. "We have to study carefully, in detail, every option."

Suntory has already divested itself of some holdings since the Beam deal, including French cognac brand Louis Royer. Over the weekend it agreed to sell its stake in a joint venture with Tsingtao Brewery Co. of China.

The Beam deal weighed down Suntory with a heavy debt burden, putting pressure on the company to increase sales of bourbon and other drinks. Suntory has a BBB long-term credit rating from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. Mr. Niinami said he wanted to lift that to A-minus by 2018.

Suntory—which also makes Japanese whisky, nonalcoholic drinks and other packaged goods—will keep its U.S. focus on distilled spirits, Mr. Niinami said.

Mr. Niinami said Suntory was considering introducing its beer, currently sold only in Japan and a handful of other markets, in the U.S. Anheuser-Busch's planned takeover of SABMiller will provide economies of scale for mass-market brewers, while generating new demand for craft beers, imports and other high-end alternatives to the likes of Budweiser and Miller Lite, he said.

Mr. Niinami said Suntory would consider a "strategic partnership" to sell beer in the U.S. For now, the company's brewing operation concentrates on Japan, where it is the No. 3 player behind Asahi Breweries Ltd. and Kirin Holdings Co., with a strong position at the high end of the market.

"We will be able to shake hands with premium players," he said. "The huge market share of one player will create opportunities."

Mr. Niinami said the company wouldn't bid for any beer brands that the combined Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller might have to sell to satisfy antitrust authorities.

While analysts say some of Japan's big-four brewers, which also include Sapporo Breweries Ltd., might need to join forces to survive in a shrinking, aging market, Mr. Niinami said Suntory wouldn't take part in any such combinations.

"We are not interested in consolidation of the beer market in this country," he said.

Write to Eric Pfanner at eric.pfanner@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2015 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)

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