Asahi buys SABMiller’s CEE business
18:29
Asahi Group, one of Japan’s largest beverage producers, will be the new king of beer in central and eastern Europe, according to several international press reports on Tuesday. Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch inBev owns SABMiller’s CEE assets, including several eastern European beer brands. Just before bidding closed on Tuesday, Asahi agreed to pay €7.3 billion for the acquisition. The company was believed to have made such a move to offset weak domestic sales. This will boost its new presence in the region, as it becomes the largest Japanese brewer on the European market.
AB InBev agreed to sell brands that include Poland's Tyskie and Lech, Hungary's Dreher and Czechia's Pilsner Urquell. The acquisition, Reuters reported, will close in the first half of 2017. It will be Asahi’s biggest deal ever. Asahi said on Tuesday that the AB InBev business had annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €493.8 million during the 2015 fiscal year.
