Ajinomoto acquires all trademarks licensed to Ajinomoto General Foods

Seasonings manufacturer has entered an agreement to acquire all the trademarks currently licensed to Ajinomoto General Foods (AGF), as well as other rights from coffee company Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), for €225m.

Last April, Ajinomoto acquired a 50% stake in AGF from Mondelez International and made the former a consolidated subsidiary.

The trademark rights of AGF products such as Blendy and Maxim, however, were initially held by Mondelez and then JDE which took over the coffee business from Mondelez. AGF has used the trademarks under licence.

All parties now have agreed to Ajinomoto’s acquisition of trademarks and other rights from JDE. According to the agreement, Ajinomoto will have rights on trademarks that were jointly held by JDE and AGF.

For Maxim, only the trademark in Japan is covered.

The agreement covers all trademarks licensed to AGF by JDE that includes Blendy, Maxim, Triplesso, Chotto Zeitakuna, Tea Heart and Shin-Chajin.

With the trademark acquisition, Ajinomoto will now gain access to new product development and brand logos, as well as have the authority for licensing to other companies.

The acquisition also eliminated the risk of termination of trademark licences.