Japan's Asahi to bid for SABMiller's CEE beer brands: Nikkei

Tokyo-based brewer Asahi Group Holdings plans to offer over 500 billion yen ($4.87 billion) for SABMiller Plc's beer business in five Central and Eastern European countries, the Nikkei business daily reported. SABMiller's business in Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania will be opened up to bidding following Anheuser-Busch InBev's acquisition of the company next week, according to Nikkei. However, an Asahi spokeswoman said the company was not currently taking any steps to acquire SABMiller's assets. In May, Asahi Group President Akiyoshi Koji told Reuters that the company would not bid for CEE assets that SABMiller is selling. The Japanese brewer has already agreed to buy brands such as Italy's Peroni from SABMiller for €2.55 billion ($2.84 billion).