AB-InBev and Asahi agree on transaction

Let’s hope the Japanese know what they are doing. On 19 April 2016 AB-InBev said it has accepted an offer from Japan’s brewer Asahi for the European beer brands Peroni and Grolsch. Terms of the deal were not released, but AB-InBev in February said Asahi had offered EUR 2.55 billion (USD 2.8 billion) for the brands.

The deal is conditional upon the completion of AB-InBev’s takeover of SABMiller.

Besides Peroni and Grolsch, Asahi will get the London craft brewer Meantime and businesses in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. All of those brands are assets of SABMiller. Asahi will not, however, receive the global rights for the beers in the U.S., media say.

Asahi is currently Japan’s largest brewer with a 38 percent share of the domestic market. It also owns a partial share of China’s Tsingtao Brewery and several Australian and New Zealand beverage brands. Asahi is hoping to widen its international footprint because it still depends on its home market for nearly 90 percent of its earnings. As this deal is Asahi’s first major European acquisition, it could well pose challenges for a company unfamiliar with the market, some analysts have said.

Asahi, whose domestic competitors include Sapporo, Suntory and Kirin, posted annual sales of 1.85 trillion yen (USD 16.9 billion) last year.