In July of 1933, Dainippon Beer acquired Nippon Beer Kosen, a company led by Koichiro Nezu, the president of Tobu Railway. The predecessor to that firm was Marusan Beer Jozo, which was established in what is today Handa, Aichi Prefecture in 1887. It was acquired by Nezu in October of 1906 and renamed to Nippon Daiichi Beer.
Since even before the 1906 merger of the three firms, Nippon Beer president Kyohei Makoshi had in fact been planning the strategic merger and acquisition of Marusan Beer Jozo Co., Ltd. Makoshi was imprudent in mentioning the plan so soon, and Momosuke Fukuzawa, an executive at Hokkaido Tanko Railway, approached Nezu first and acquired Marusan. Makoshi was furious at having been beaten to the punch by his own acquaintance. The two would go on to be at loggerheads, and they competed not only in business, but in the collection of antiques, in the tea ceremony, and other areas, trying to outdo each other.
In April 1933, Makoshi passed away. Nezu considered Makoshi a rival and had boldly done battle against him in the field of business, but he took the merger as an opportunity to withdraw from the beer industry. This led Dainippon Beer to have, in addition to Sapporo, Yebisu, and Asahi Beer, the Union and Kabuto Beer brands that formerly belonged to Nippon Beer Kosen.