Snow Brand Milk Products Co. said Monday it will sell part of its stake in Yukijirushi Access Inc. to transport equipment maker Toyota Industries Corp. and four other firms later this month.

The troubled dairy products maker said it will sell 2.62 million shares, or 5 percent, of the outstanding shares in the food wholesale unit to Toyota Industries for 1.94 billion yen on Nov. 27.

It will also sell 1.67 million shares, or 3.19 percent, to food distributor Kokubu & Co. for 1.24 billion yen on Friday; 1.31 million shares, or 2.5 percent, to trading house Mitsui & Co. for 969.4 million yen on Nov. 26; 675,000 shares, or 1.29 percent, to food maker Kagome Co. for 499.5 million yen on Nov. 27; and 524,000 shares, or 1 percent, to Sapporo Breweries Ltd. for 387.76 million yen on Nov. 26.

After the sale, Snow Brand Milk's stake in Yukijirushi Access will fall to 10.24 percent from 23.22 percent, it said.

Kokubu's holdings in the Snow Brand unit will rise to 8.19 percent from 5 percent, and those of Mitsui and Kagome will increase to 5 percent from 2.5 percent and to 1.54 percent from 0.25 percent, respectively. Toyota Industries and Sapporo Breweries currently have no stake.

Yukijirushi Access' largest shareholder is trading house Itochu Corp., with a 25 percent interest.

Meanwhile, Kagome said it has signed an agreement with Snow Brand Milk to acquire all 280,000 shares in Snow Brand Labio Co., a lactic beverage maker, from the dairy products maker for 3 billion yen on Nov. 27.

The Snow Brand group was hit hard in 2000 by widespread food-poisoning caused by milk products made by the parent company, and then by fraudulent mislabeling of beef by subsidiary Snow Brand Foods Co. earlier this year.

The labeling scandal led to the liquidation of the subsidiary on April 30.