Hamburger Chain Lotteria to be Sold to Zensho

Jiji Press

9:20 JST, February 18, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Lotte Holdings Co. said Thursday it will sell all shares in its hamburger chain subsidiary Lotteria Co. to restaurant giant Zensho Holdings Co. on April 1.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The Lotteria brand will be maintained for a certain period even after the share transfer. Lotteria opened its first outlet in 1972. The chain had 358 outlets in Japan as of Jan. 1 this year.

The share sale is part of Lotte Holdings’ review of its overall operations. The company has major confectionery maker Lotte Co. under its wing.

Referring to the planned share sale, Lotte Holdings President Genichi Tamatsuka, who once helped Lotteria to turn around its business, said that “this is the best choice for Lotteria, Zensho Holdings and Lotte Holdings to achieve new growth.”

Zensho Holdings said that the acquisition of Lotteria will help it to generate synergies in such fields as food procurement and logistics by taking advantage of its wide range of restaurant operations.

Zensho Holdings operates many family restaurant chains, as well as Sukiya gyudon beef-on-rice restaurants and Hama-Sushi conveyor-belt sushi restaurants. The company once ran Wendy’s hamburger shops in Japan but currently does not operate any hamburger chain.