Sabah - Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation, one of the largest companies in the world, has become the latest addition to Turkish Ulker’s list of foreign partners with its decision to coproduce noodle in Türkiye. Mitsubishi and its affiliate Nissin Foods have shaken hands for Piyale, Türkiye’s first noodle producer that was acquired by Ulker last year. The first steps for the transaction were taken last week, enabling the Japanese side to acquire a 50 percent stake in the brand. Ulker, having received approval from the Competition Authority, will reportedly sign the deal with its Japanese partners in the upcoming days.
The Japanese partners will invest around TRY 100 million in this operation, while the capacity of Piyale’s current production plant will be further boosted with future investments. Therefore, the noodle production know-how of Japanese Nissin, the world’s largest noodle producer with total annual revenue of USD 3.5 billion, will be reflected on production in Piyale, and a new noodle production line will be inaugurated.
Ulker, already a partner of a number of European and US companies, will engage in production with a Japanese company for the first time. The main reason behind the preference of Mitsubishi and Nissin over Ulker is the company’s strong presence in the Middle Eastern, African and European markets. This transaction will enable Ulker to sell noodle to Japan, which imports 30,000 tons of noodle per annum. Mitsubishi, having recently partnered with rent-a-car company Intercity, currently employs 612,000 people and is the largest energy, iron-steel, chemicals, automotive and electronics company in Japan.