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.

So India is next for Molson Coors. Hope they know what they are in for. On 23 June 2011 Molson Coors and Cobra India announced the formation of a joint venture that will brew and market Cobra beer in South Asia.

Foster’s has sacked 100 workers from its Melbourne corporate headquarters. The staff – from the company’s back office, including the marketing and finance teams – were told of the redundancies on 6 June 2011. They join 50 workers from the Foster’s company’s Abbotsford brewery outside Melbourne who were made redundant last month.

AB-InBev and China Resources Snow Breweries (the SABMiller joint venture) are gearing up for expansion in southwestern China’s Guangxi region, a market that has long been dominated by Yanjing and Tsingtao breweries.

So much for stock market hype. As soon as the rumour broke that the most unlikely of buyers had set their eyes on Foster’s, shares in the brewer went up more than 7 percent early on 3 June 2011, raising its market capitalisation to USD 9.5 billion. It seems that investors must be getting so desperate for a deal that, if only for a second, they could believe a bid by Molson Coors and Mexico’s Grupo Modelo was in the offing.

Foster’s former wine unit, Treasury Wine Estates, which still happens to be the world’s number two wine company with vineyards from Hunter Valley near Sydney to California’s Napa Valley, ended its first day on the stock exchange (9 May 2011) with a market value of AUD 2.18 billion (USD 2.32 billion), near the top end of brokers’ valuations.