is a Japanese multinational '' keiretsu''

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

which owns

Hankyu Corporation , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gro ...

, the Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Toho Co., Ltd., and affiliate companies. On October 1, 2006, Hankyu Holdings changed its name to the present corporate name following the merger with

Hanshin Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form the ...

. On the same day Hankyu Corporation Group was renamed Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group, and the Hankyu Toho Group renamed Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. The operations of the company are centered on transportation, retailing, real estate, entertainment and media. The transportation segment is the company's main cashflow generating business and comprises the railway companies

(acquired in 2006) and Hankyu Railway. It also includes the smaller railway lines of Hokushin Kyūkō Electric Railway and Nose Electric Railway, as well as equity stakes in Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway, Sanyo Electric Railway, Osaka Monorail and Kobe Electric Railway. The company also owns various taxi and bus franchises. Hankyu and Hanshin also both had air cargo and express freight subsidiaries, which were combined in the Hankyu Hanshin Express Holdings company. The retailing business is mainly concentrated in the company's large shareholding of H₂O Retailing, the company formed via the merger of the Hankyu and Hanshin Department Store companies. The company owns and operates many hotels, and is developing real estate projects mainly on land along its railway lines through its subsidiary Hankyu Realty, which was previously separately listed, but fully acquired through a stock swap in 2002. It has spun off some of its vast real estate holdings (such as the HEP Five building) into a REIT company, Hankyu Hanshin Properties. The group has a controlling stake in

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

, which next to its many media interests (movie development and distribution, as well as a large stake in Fuji Media Holdings) has also large real estate interests. Other companies in the entertainment area include the Hanshin Tigers and the Takarazuka Revue, and stakes in Kansai TV and FM Osaka, as well as tourism operations (e.g. Hankyu Travel).

Major shareholders

(As of August 2009) In 2006, the activist Fund ''Privee Zurich Turnaround Group'' run by Kenzo Matsumara (which later assumed the name ''Privee Investment Holding'', was then acquired by ''e-Revolution co. Ltd.'' and now renamed ''Privee Fund Group'') took a major stake in Hankyu Holdings, hoping to boost efficiencies in the very diverse holdings of the Hankyu-Toho group.Privee Zurich becomes top shareholder in Japan's Hankyu Holdings, Forbes, September 2006
/ref> However, the takeover of

by Hankyu in the wake of the affair surrounding Fund Manager Yoshiaki Murakami and the establishment by Hankyu management of anti-takeover measures, as well as the

global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

resulted in ''Privee'' reducing its stake in the company in 2008.

Listed companies in which Hankyu Hanshin Holdings directly holds a stake

* ''Kobe Electric Railway'', first section of the Osaka Securities Exchange
9046
27.7% stake * ''Sanyo Electric Railway'', first section of the Osaka Securities Exchang
9052
17.38% stake * ''OS Company, Ltd.'', second section of the Osaka Securities Exchang
9637
22% stake * ''H₂O Retailing'', first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchang
8242
21.8% stake * ''Tokyo Rakutenchi Company, Ltd.'', first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchang
8842
17.8% stake * ''Hankyu REIT'', first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchang
8977
4.1% stake * ''Toho Co, Ltd.'', first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange, Fukuoka Stock Exchang
9602
20.15% stake

Sports franchises

Hankyu once owned of a professional baseball team in Japan, known as the Hankyu Braves. In 1988, the team was sold to Orient Leasing Co. (which changed its name to Orix in 1989) and the team name became the

Orix BlueWave , styled as ORIX, is a Japanese diversified financial services group headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, and Osaka, Japan. ORIX offers leasing, lending, rentals, life insurance, real estate financing and development, venture capital, investment an ...

and later the Orix Buffaloes. The Hankyu Braves were sold by then-president of Hankyu, Kohei Kobayashi, to finance the redevelopment of

Umeda Station is a railway station in Kita-ku in the northern commercial center of Osaka, Japan. It is the busiest station in western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005. Umeda Station is served by the following railways: * Hankyu Railway ( K ...

and

Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Nishinomiya Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company Hankyu Railway.It is one of the main stations in Nishinomiya City, with Hanshin Nishin ...

. By acquiring Hanshin Electric Railway, Hankyu-Hanshin Holdings became the owner of the baseball team Hanshin Tigers.

References

External links

Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
* Wiki collection of bibliographic works on Hankyu Hanshin Holdings {{Authority control Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Companies listed on the Osaka Exchange Holding companies of Japan Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Midori-kai Japanese companies established in 1907 Holding companies established in 1907