Someone has been buying up shares in Foster’s. Who could it be? A bank? An investment fund? A competitor? Step forward – North American brewer Molson Coors. Interestingly, the three brewers have been in bed together before. The three-way relationship came to an end a decade ago when Foster’s sold its half share in Canadian venture Molson Breweries for AUD 1.1 billion to Molson, as the beer maker was known before its merger with Adolph Coors. Now Molson Coors has been revealed as the mystery buyer of a significant stake (5%) in Foster’s in October 2008. The market responded positively on 6 November 2008 with shares rising 24¢ to AUD 6.09 and some watchers think Molson “is buying a seat at the table” ahead of any carve up of Foster’s brand portfolio.

Why should Diageo engage with Cobra Beer if it can get into partnership with a mightier player? India’s UB Group said that its subsidiary United Spirits and Diageo have entered into exclusive talks for a limited period. Apparently, Diageo hopes to gain better access to the subcontinent’s growing middle class with its whisky brands.

Whoa. Just when everybody thought that the Australian beer market was a neatly carved up duopoly with Coca-Cola-Amatil looking after the rest, we were forced to rethink our assumptions. On 17 November 2008 Australia’s number two brewer Lion Nathan confirmed that it is in discussions with Coca-Cola Amatil (“CCA”) regarding a potential merger. Lion Nathan said it would acquire all of the issued shares in CCA via a scheme of arrangement. If CCA accepts the offer, the resulting entity would resemble a complicated foursome as Lion Nathan is majority-owned by Japan’s brewer Kirin (46%) and CCA is in cohorts with SABMiller.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said on 17 November 2008 it approved InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch – albeit with some restrictions on the new firm’s investments in China.

Global brewer SABMiller expects beer consumption in India to rise five-fold over the next five years irrespective of high taxes and a low number of retail outlets.

The 8th China Brew and Beverage was all about raw materials, technologies, logistics and marketing. The International Brew & Beverage Processing Technology and Equipment Exhibition from 20-23 October brought together the Who’s Who of the industry. 46,751 visitors and 491 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions were welcomed by the organizer, the China National Building Material & Light Industrial Machinery Group Corporation (CNBLM). Well-known exhibitors presented products such as filling and packaging systems for bottles and cans, disinfection and cleaning equipment, beverages and additives in altogether ten halls of the China International Exhibition Center (CIEC) in Peking. Market-leading German companies were represented by their local branches in China. Nürnberg Global Fairs, the international subsidiary of NürnbergMesse, was responsible for the German pavilion. A total of 22 exhibitors used the German pavilion to present their products to the Chinese trade visitors.

Home brew shop operators report that world’s financial turmoil has brought about a resurgence in home brewing in Australia, with more people buying home brew kits as they seek to reduce living costs.

The latest figures from the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation show that wine exports dropped in value 15 percent in the year to September with the total volume exported falling by 13 percent to 698 million litres. Growth was shown in only two markets – Denmark and Hong Kong.

Energy drinks still seem to be all the rage. Small wonder that Groupe Danone has received a number of final bids from trade buyers for its Frucor unit, maker of V energy drinks. In the end it was Japanese beverage company Suntory which clinched the deal. Danone, which is streamlining its portfolio to focus on healthier products such as mineral and spring water, on 23 October 2008 sold Frucor for an "amount over EUR 600 million" or around AUD 1.2 billion, at the top end of analysts’ expectations.

Six months on from the Federal Government’s tax increase on RTD’s in April, the Department of Ageing & Health is pleased with the impact the rise had on the market, pointing out that “recent Australian Tax Office figures show a 23 percent decrease in pure alcohol sold in spirit form, between April and June”.