The Foster’s takeover saga continues
That’s pathetic. That’s truly desperate. Do they have nothing better to do? As investors await news about Foster’s full-year profits and a higher bid from SABMiller, Foster’s CEO John Pollaers on 29 July 2012 announced Foster’s had relaunched its iconic beer business and renamed its Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) business as Carlton United Brewers.
In case you did not spot the difference between the old and the new, you will have to read the last sentence again.
CUB’s history stretches back to 1824, and it is Australia’s biggest brewer, making the VB, Carlton Draught, Crown Lager and Pure Blonde brands. Foster’s new agenda will see it reach out to the community by presenting beer as a socially positive product, which brings Australians together, with the slogan "raised in friendship".
"The old CUB name was about the buildings where the beer was made – the new CUB name is about the people who make the beer," Mr Pollaers said.
I am sure those Foster’s employees who have recently been shown the door as part of the brewer’s cost cutting drive will heartily agree.
Chief Executive John Pollaers said the relaunch of CUB was planned after Foster’s demerged its beer and wine business in May this year.
After sharing this bit of trivia, Mr Pollaers decided to talk shop – why his company had rejected the AUD 9.5 billion (USD 10.5 billion) bid by SABMiller in June 2011.
“We are not saying we would never engage,” Mr Pollaers was quoted as saying. “The value put on the table there was just so far away from reality, it wasn’t worth engaging.”
As BRAUWELT International speculated last month, SABMiller, or a rival brewer, could be waiting until 23 August 2011 to up the ante. That’s when Foster’s publishes its annual results.
SABMiller hasn’t returned with a higher bid since its AUD 4.90 a share cash bid was rejected on 21 June 2011 and the London-based company said it would “seek engagement” with Foster’s. Mr Pollaers, who has run the Melbourne-based brewer since it spun off its wine unit, said the company’s market share has stabilised at about 50 percent and Australian consumption may return to “modest” long-term growth after natural disasters curbed demand.
Mr Pollaers is concentrating on stemming market-share losses and cutting production costs to free up cash and boost promotion of brands. He’s also developing new brews to win back consumers who switched to sweeter pre-mixed drinks and craft beers, it was reported.
The company said on 19 July 2011 it may buy back shares or boost dividends after winning a dispute with the Australian Commissioner of Taxation that will see it receive about AUD 390 million in cash refunds and interest.
