Kobayashi Pharmaceutical to absorb subsidiary Meitan Honpo by year-end

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced on October 8, 2025, that it will absorb its wholly-owned subsidiary, Meitan Honpo Co., Ltd., effective December 31, 2025. This absorption-type merger will dissolve Meitan Honpo. The merger is classified as a simplified merger for Kobayashi Pharmaceutical and a short-form merger for Meitan Honpo, thus bypassing shareholder approval for both companies. Prior to the merger, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical will forgive a portion of its claims against Meitan Honpo to resolve its current negative net assets.

The decision follows the closure of Meitan Honpo's factory, announced in April 2025, and a thorough review of its "Meitan Honpo products," which primarily use plum extract. Despite initial consideration for developing new products using plum extract, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has decided against further new product development for Meitan Honpo products. This merger aims to optimize the entire group's management resources.

As of December 31, 2024, Meitan Honpo reported significant financial challenges, with net assets of -431 million yen and total assets of 417 million yen. Its net income per share was -10,788.78 yen. In contrast, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported consolidated net assets of 213,471 million yen and total assets of 265,368 million yen for the same period. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical anticipates a minor impact on its consolidated financial results due to this merger.