Japan’s Daio Paper Corporation will acquire all shares of Ozen Kisisel Bakim Urunleri Uretim AS, a hygiene products manufacturer owned by Yildiz Holding AS, a major food and consumer goods conglomerate in Turkey, and will make Ozen a subsidiary.

It also announced it had reached an agreement with Marubeni Corporation to jointly acquire indirectly all shares of Brazil’s Santher-Fabrica de Papel Santa Therezinha SA, a manufacturer of personal care products.

A joint investment company established in Brazil called H&PC BRAZIL Participacoes SA (subsidiary company), in which Daio and Marubeni hold 51 per cent and 49 per cent stake respectively, will directly acquire all Santher shares.

While considering the next expansion area following Asia, Daio started to focus on Turkey, which has unique geopolitical characteristics, and has conducted market research since 2014.

As Turkey is expected to have a solid growth in its domestic hygiene market with a population of 82 million and more than a million births per year, and has a potential to become a production base for possible export to Middle East and North Africa and Russia and its neighbouring countries, Daio established a representative office in Istanbul in 2017 from which it has been selling baby diapers since March 2018.

Daio also opened a representative office in Moscow in July 2019 to strengthen its marketing activities in Russia, and has also been conducting sales activities in the Middle East.

Ozen, established in 1998, has a factory situated close to Istanbul and currently produces and sells products in three product categories: baby diapers, wet wipes and toiletries. Santher was founded in 1938 and has engaged in the sales and manufacturing of personal care products such as household paper, disposable baby diapers and sanitary napkins in Brazil for over 80 years.

Daio’s next aim is to extend the business to the entire South American region and to Southern Africa.