Tokyo, Oct 30 - Japanese brewer Sapporo Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday a fund run by investment bank Morgan Stanley would take a small stake and they would work together in real estate matters.
Japan's third-largest beer maker, known for its Yebisu beer, said it decided to form a capital and business alliance with Morgan Stanley as it plans to expand its real estate business, which earned more than 70 percent of its operating profit in 2006.
In the agreement, the real estate fund managed by Morgan Stanley would buy a 1.5 percent stake in Sapporo from the market by the end of this year and may increase the stake to around 5 percent, Sapporo said.
The fund will also pay Sapporo 50 billion yen ($437 million) for a 15 percent stake in Yebisu Garden Place, Sapporo's flagship commercial property in downtown Tokyo.
Morgan Stanley said in June that it had raised an $8 billion real estate fund to focus on North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
In April, it said it would buy 13 hotels and two property management units from Japanese airline All Nippon Airways Co Ltd for $2.4 billion, which was the biggest hotel transaction in Asia.