Japanese brewers have deep pockets and they are out to shop. Final bids for Independent Liquor were due to close 4 August 2011 and if the rumour mongers are correct, neither of the big Australian retailers – Woolworths and Coles – submitted offers.

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 July 2011 Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) and Heineken sold their stakes in Jiangsu Dafuhao Breweries Co and Shanghai Asia Pacific Brewery Company to China Resources Snow Breweries (CR Snow), a joint venture of CR Enterprise and SABMiller.

On June 16, Sidel inaugurated its new Beijing technical training center, a 900 sqm facility located within the Sidel Beijing Plant, equipped with three classrooms with capability to offer theoretical learning, including a virtual reality room that allows trainees to interact with projected models.

What’s going on in Australia? Is the country’s beverage industry running a shop clearance sale? Everything but the girl must go? According to media reports, the Foster’s Group, the listed wine company Treasury Wine Estates and Independent Liquor, a private equity-owned producer of alcopops, have all been tagged for disposal.

The sales of international spirits brands have long been hampered by emerging markets’ tax barriers. Not for much longer, though. In the case of the Philippines, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is expected to rule that the taxes levied on alcoholic drinks from the European Union and United States are illegal under global trade rules.

First the release of dissident artist Ai Weiwei, then the go-ahead for a long-blocked deal. China moves in mysterious ways. Who would have thought that one day Beijing would allow a foreign company to gain control of a Chinese brand? At the end of June 2011, Diageo, the world’s number one drinks company, was given the green light by China’s antitrust body to acquire one of China’s best-known liquor makers in a deal that could pave the way for one of the first foreign acquisitions of a big Chinese listed company.

As soon as SABMiller’s offer was on the table, analysts began to speculate on the future of Grupo Modelo’s fast-growing export sales to Australia. Currently, Foster’s imports and distributes Corona Extra Down Under. Should Foster’s change hands, Modelo may have to look for another distributor, analysts at Credit Suisse reckon.

Finally! An official offer for Foster’s Group. After what has been the longest rumoured takeover in the history of the brewing industry, SABMiller is the first to come out of the woodwork. At the end of June 2011the world’s number two brewer made an AUD 9.51 billion (USD 10 billion) all-cash takeover offer for Foster’s, which was immediately rejected by Foster’s board. Foster’s thinks the offer undervalues the company.

What’s in a brewery? Only the value of the real estate. Given that Melbourne’s real estate prices have been soaring in recent years, any new owner of Foster’s might be tempted to close down Foster’s historic Abbotsford brewery (it’s located in a Melbourne suburb) and build a new brewery elsewhere. Abbotsford’s real estate is said to be valued at AUD 1 billion, whereas a new brewery could cost up to AUD 500 million. Sounds like Abbotsford’s fate is sealed.