InBev to buy Chinese brewer, report
breweries for about $750 million, sources have told the New York
Times.
The paper reported today that the Belgian company had won a bidding war with other western brewers to acquire Fujian Sedrin Brewery, a state-owned brewery based in China's provinces.
Marianne Amssoms, a spokeswoman for InBev, declined to comment on the report to AP-Foodtechnology.com. Officials at Fujian Sedrin could not be reached for comment.
If the deal is confirmed, it would be one of the largest foreign purchases of a Chinese company.
The leading brewers have set their sights on aggressive expansion in the Chinese market, which offers much more attractive growth rates than stagnant western markets.
The New York Times reported that people briefed on the deal said InBev had recently outbid Heineken and Anheuser-Busch to take over Fujian Sedrin.
Analysts said they were surprised at the high price Fujian Sedrin drew, because it is only the nation's eighth-largest brewer and China's beer market is not very profitable. While consumption is growing steadily, the market is struggling with overcapacity and low prices, according to the report.
InBev has already invested more than $400 million in Chinese breweries before making its latest bid.
Last year, Anheuser-Busch paid $694 million for Harbin Brewery. Anheuser-Busch has recently tripled its stake in Tsingtao Beer, the nation's largest brewer, to 27 per cent.
