ROMANIA: AB InBev to sale Ursus Breweries | Progresiv
Ursus Breweries, one of the leading brewers in Romania, was put up for sale by Anheuser-Busch InBev together with SABMiller operations in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, according to the Wall Street Journal. 
"These businesses include some of the largest companies in the markets where they operate and AB InBev is expected to attract considerable interest from potential buyers", mentions a statement from SABMiller.
Ursus Breweries, owned by SABMiller, is along with Heineken Romania, one of the two leading brewers on the Romanian market, with a market share of approximately 30%. The company owns three breweries in Timisoara, Buzau and Brasov.
The announcement on the takeover comes as AB InBev expects approval of European authorities for SABMiller’s takeover. According to international media, AB InBev's decision to divest the businesses in Central and Eastern Europe is part of the commitments that the producer has made to the European Commission in order to faster obtain approval for the takeover. Also from the plan presented is AB InBev's decision to sale Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands, which were recently sold to the Japanese beer producer Asahi for 2.9 billion dollars.
The sale of these businesses will have to be approved by the European Commission. At the same time, the sale of assets in Central and Eastern Europe will take place only after AB InBev will be able to take over SABMiller. The purchase is expected to close in the second half of 2016.
