Kirin to buy a 43 percent stake in San Miguel Brewery
A sale to Kirin would reduce San Miguel Corp.’s stake in the brewing unit to 51 percent from 94.25 percent, according to estimates.
Kirin, the San Miguel Corporation and San Miguel Brewery will also negotiate a partial sale of San Miguel Corp.’s overseas beer business to San Miguel Brewery. The exclusivity contract currently under discussion will be in effect for six months after San Miguel Corp.’s announcement that it will sell its shares.
Kirin’s long-term business vision is to be a leading beverage company in Asia and Oceania, and Kirin has been promoting an acquisition strategy focusing on profitable operations in this region.
Kirin has been a strategic equity partner of San Miguel Corporation since 2002.
In November, Kirin’s Australian unit, Lion Nathan, launched an AUD 8 billion bid for Coca-Cola’s Australian bottler, Coca-Cola Amatil, but walked away when Coca-Cola said the bid was undervalued. Kirin is also reportedly joining a crowded field of suitors for South Korean beer giant Oriental Brewery that its parent AB-InBev hopes to sell in order to reduce its debt load following the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch.
