Brewer Kirin to buy 33% stake in cosmetics firm Fancl for $1.2bn.

Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings to acquire a 33% stake in cosmetics company Fancl for 129bn yen ($1.21bn) as it reduces its exposure to the shrinking domestic beer market. Japan’s second-biggest beer maker’s strategy of shedding underperforming overseas assets and expanding into health foods and beverages contrasts with peer Asahi Group Holdings that has snapped up overseas beer brands including Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Australian assets.