Tokyo, Oct 26 - Ito En Ltd., Japan's top maker of green tea drinks, said on Thursday it would take a controlling stake in Foodx Globe, which operates about 300 Tully's coffee shops across the country.
Ito En, which is considering selling cold coffee drinks under the Tully's brand at supermarkets, said it would spend 1.9 billion yen ($16 million) to buy shares from Unicafe Inc. and raise its stake in Foodx Globe to 51 percent from 36.4 percent.
Before the announcement, shares in Ito En closed down 1.6 percent at 3,760 yen. The Nikkei average was up 0.67 percent.
The move comes just two days after Ito En sent ripples through Japan's retail coffee industry by announcing it had taken a one-third stake in Foodx, seeking new sources of profit amid a mature beverage market in Japan.
The purchase also comes just one month after SBI Holdings hiked its stake in Foodx to just under 29 percent from 17.1 percent, sparking some speculation that the venture capital firm might be trying to gain control.
Foodx, which delisted in January 2004 following a management buyout, last year acquired the trademark and intellectual property assets for the Tully's business in Japan.
The burden from that purchase pushed it into the red in the past business year ended March, leading it to issue shares to SBI Holdings to boost its finances.