Asahi to buy SABMiller's assets

A worker checks bottles of beer at the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Plzen, Czech Republic. [Photo/Agencies]

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd agreed to buy SABMiller Plc's eastern European assets including Pilsner Urquell from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV for 7.3 billion euros ($7.8 billion), as the Budweiser maker ties up loose ends after combining the world's two biggest brewers.

Asahi expects the acquisition to close in the first half of 2017, and is positioning its overseas business as a growth engine to establish itself as a global player, the Tokyo-based brewer said on Tuesday.

The deal further strengthens Asahi's foothold in Europe after Japan's largest brewer agreed to pay 2.55 billion euros for AB InBev's Peroni and Grolsch brands earlier this year. For AB InBev, the divestment brings it a step closer to meeting the antitrust commitments that allowed it to buy SABMiller for about $100 billion.

"We had estimated a value between $5 billion and $6 billion, so the price paid by Asahi looks pretty full and great for AB InBev," Trevor Stirling of Sanford C. Bernstein said. The analyst estimates the market share by beer volume that Asahi will now have in Europe, excluding Russia, is about 9 percent.

Asahi shares fell 4.6 percent by the close of Tokyo trading on Tuesday, the biggest drop since June. The purchase would be the largest by a Japanese brewer since Kirin Holdings Co's A$4.8 billion ($3.6 billion) acquisition of Australia's Lion Nathan Pty in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A completed sale would bring some much-needed cheer for AB InBev investors, who have seen the stock slide 15 percent this year through Monday.

In October, the brewer missed profit estimates for the sixth straight quarter, illustrating why it needed to acquire SABMiller.

The $21 billion Japanese beer market is stagnating, with little growth projected through 2019, according to data tracker Euromonitor. Over the same period, the global market for beer should expand by 8.2 percent.

Asahi and other Japan brewers have been chasing overseas acquisitions to reduce their dependence on a domestic market hampered by a shrinking population.

Buying the additional SABMiller brands will also help Asahi attract younger Japanese drinkers with established premium beers, said Haitong International securities analyst Nicolas Wang.

Bloomberg