Asahi to buy SABMiller’s Eastern European business in 7.8 billion dollars deal | Progresiv
Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. agreed to acquire AB InBev’s businesses in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, Hungary and Romania and other related assets that were owned by SABMiller plc prior to its combination with AB InBev. The transaction is worth 7.3 billion euros (7.8 billion dollars). 
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.
The deal further strengthens Asahi’s foothold in Europe after Japan’s largest brewer agreed to pay 2.55 billion euros (2.7 billion dollars) 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 dollars.
“We had estimated a value between 5 billion dollars and 6 billion dollars, so the price paid by Asahi looks pretty full and great for AB InBev,” Trevor Stirling of Sanford C. Bernstein said by phone. The analyst estimates the market share by beer volume that Asahi will now have in Europe, excluding Russia, is about 9 percent. (www.esmmagazine.com)
