Beverage makers foaming over Foster's

BEIJING - Tsingtao Brewery Company, one of the largest breweries in China, may be considering the purchase of the beer assets of Australia's largest brewer Foster's Group, while domestic food and beverage giant, Bright Food Group, is said to be interested in Foster's wine unit, according to Chinese media. Industry insiders said Bright Food is in a better financial position to actually conclude a deal.

Huang Wei, an analyst with China Jianyin Investment Securities, said: "Because of the reasonable price of the acquisition, Foster's wine division is attractive to Bright Food Group."

The transaction price of the wine unit would be higher than Foster's original investment in the business at $5.6 billion, but may prove financially feasible for Bright Food Group, Huang said. Foster's began expanding into wine 15 years ago to diversify its business. Now Foster's is the second-largest winemaker in the world, after Constellation Wines International. However, the wine division suffered declines in recent years.