Kentucky bourbon is the quintessential American beverage, especially an iconic brand such as Jim Beam made by BEAM Inc (NYSE: BEAM). But while BEAM will continue to produce its bourbon and other distilled spirits on US soil, it’s about to get bought by a Japanese company.

Last month, Suntory Beverage & Food (Tokyo: 2587) announced a deal to acquire Deerfield, Illinois-based BEAM for $83.50 per share for a total value of $16 billion. The deal is expected to close sometime in the second quarter, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.

Since going public in July, Suntory has been on an acquisition spree, purchasing GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE: GSK) Lucozade and Ribena drink brands for about $2.1 billion last September. Prior to that, it purchased Orangina Schweppes in 2009.

Suntory is no stranger to bourbon whiskey, owning the popular Japanese brands Yamazaki, Hakushu and Bowman. Suntory’s acquisition of BEAM would add to its line-up a myriad of big-selling brands, including Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Sauza Tequila, Courvoisier Cognac, Canadian Club Whisky, Teacher’s Scotch, Pinnacle Vodka, Laphroaig Scotch, Knob Creek Bourbon, Basil Hayden’s Bourbon, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, Cruzan Rum, Hornitos Tequila, Skinnygirl Cocktails, and Sourz Liqueurs. The purchase would make the company the third-largest producer of spirits in the world, in addition to its carbonated beverage and fruit juice products.

Why would an already thriving Japanese spirits company be interested in such a move?

For one thing, the Japanese beverage market has been relatively lackluster in recent years, due to anemic economic growth and an aging population. Elderly Japanese typically prefer tea and fruit juice over liquor.

However, liquor remains a major growth market in other parts of Asia, particularly China, with consumption in the Asia-Pacific region up 61 percent between 2000 and 2011. Premium American brands also offer entre into the rapidly growing African markets, where liquor consumption grew by 43.8 percent over the same period. The entire reason Suntory opted for an initial public offering in July was to help raise the cash necessary to purchase a company such as BEAM and tap into those global markets.

The sheer size of the acquisition has made the markets nervous and several global credit agencies are closely watching the progress of the deal. To be sure, it’s the second-largest Japanese acquisition of an American company in history. But Suntory has a strong operational history that suggests it should be able to easily integrate BEAM.

Suntory is already familiar with BEAM and its brands. The Japanese company has been BEAM’s Asian distributor for years, while BEAM has marketed Suntory’s drinks in other parts of Asia. As a result, key distribution networks are already in place cross Asia.

Suntory management has also said that it would forgo further acquisitions for at least a year, using the time to fully digest BEAM and leverage its products into a global powerhouse. That will also give the company time to rebuild its balance sheet. The purchase will be funded through a bridge loan of between $10 billion and $12 billion, in addition to a combination of cash on the balance sheet and bonds.

Suntory has already shown strong global sales growth. According to Suntory’s operating results for the first nine months of 2013, sales were down by 7 percent in the Americas and essentially flat in Europe, but they were up by 36.9 percent in Asia and by almost 4 percent in the Oceania region on a currency neutral basis. Sales in its home Japanese market were up by 3.5 percent.

Profit for the first nine months in the company’s Japanese segment totaled JPY32.4 billion, up from JPY26.7 billion in the same period last year, due to high sales volumes and lower costs. International profits were up 16.9 percent year-over-year to JPY37 billion. Net income per share reached JPY99.26 versus JPY72.29 in the same period last year.

For the full year, the company expects net sales of JPY1.1 trillion, up 12.9 percent versus last year. It anticipates its Japanese profits to grow by 25 percent to JPY44.5 billion, while its overseas profits should grow by at least 17 percent and come in at JPY50 billion.

Despite the company’s strong operational results, shares are more than 10 percent off their 52-week high of JPY3,785, largely thanks to the deal announcement. But with little reason to suspect that this 115-year-old company won’t be able to pull off the acquisition, this is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the market’s pessimism.

Suntory Beverage & Food is a great buy up to JPY3,550, as it continues its aggressive global growth strategy.