Yoshinoya Buys Majority Stake in Kizuki Ramen for $28.7 Million

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Yoshinoya Holdings is taking a bulk involvement successful Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya, bringing 1 of the nation's fastest-growing ramen brands into the portfolio of the 125-year-old Japanese edifice company.

The Tokyo-based institution announced it volition get a 70 percent involvement successful Kizuki International LLC done its U.S. subsidiary, Yoshinoya US Holdings, successful a woody valued astatine $28.7 million. The statement besides includes imaginable earn-out payments tied to Kizuki's fiscal show done 2029. As portion of the transaction, astir $7.5 cardinal of the acquisition terms volition beryllium paid successful Yoshinoya shares, with the equilibrium paid successful cash.

The woody is expected to adjacent aft customary conditions are met.

The acquisition marks a important concern successful the U.S. ramen class for Yoshinoya. The institution said expanding its ramen concern is simply a cardinal portion of its semipermanent maturation strategy. The institution has acceptable a extremity of becoming the world's largest ramen supplier by servings by fiscal 2034.

Founded successful Seattle successful 2012 by Taiwanese American entrepreneur Yi-Chen (Brandon) Ting, Kizuki has grown into a 17-unit concatenation with restaurants concentrated connected the West Coast and successful Texas. The institution besides operates 3 accumulation facilities successful Seattle, Texas, and San Francisco.

According to Yoshinoya's capitalist filing, Kizuki generated astir $37.2 cardinal successful gross during 2025 and produced operating income of astir $1.9 million. This continued a dependable betterment successful profitability aft posting an operating nonaccomplishment successful 2022.

"When we opened our archetypal edifice successful Seattle, we simply wanted to service authentic Japanese ramen the close mode and make moments of joyousness for each impermanent who walked done our doors," Ting said successful a statement. "To gain the spot of 1 of Japan's astir iconic edifice companies is an unthinkable honor. We are profoundly grateful to our guests, our team, and our partners for believing successful what we've built together. Together, we'll bring authentic Japanese ramen to galore much communities crossed America and astir the world, staying existent to everything our guests emotion astir us."

Ting volition proceed serving arsenic CEO pursuing the transaction, and Kizuki said its restaurants volition proceed operating nether the Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya marque with its existent enactment team.

In Yoshinoya's filing, the institution said Kizuki's U.S.-focused paper development, edifice formats, and scalable operating level made it an charismatic summation to its portfolio. Yoshinoya besides cited Kizuki's accumulation infrastructure and multi-unit operating capabilities arsenic assets that tin enactment semipermanent expansion.