AB-InBev will divest brands to CCU for anti-trust approval

It seems that things move very slowly in Argentina. Almost two and a half years after the AB-InBev/SABMiller deal, Argentina’s production ministry said on 14 March 2018 it had approved a proposal from AB-InBev to divest seven of its brands in the country as a condition for its takeover of SABMiller.

SABMiller bought the struggling brewer Casa Isenbeck from Germany’s Warsteiner in 2010 for allegedly USD 43 million. Casa Isenbeck, with brands like Isenbeck, Diosa and Warsteiner, had a market share of three percent then. The business fell to AB-InBev, following its takeover of SABMiller in 2015, which was met with conditions by anti-trust bodies around the world.

To gain Argentina’s approval of the SABMiller deal, AB-InBev and the Chilean brewer CCU, which has operations in Argentina, submitted a proposal under which AB-InBev will transfer the Isenbeck, Diosa, Norte, Iguana and Baltica brands, as well as the licenses for Warsteiner and Grolsch, to CCU.

In turn, CCU will give the Argentinian rights to the Budweiser brand to AB-InBev – which markets the brand globally – in exchange for a payment of up to USD 400 million over three years, it was reported.

Without the disposals, AB-InBev would have controlled 85 percent of Argentina’s beer market, the production ministry said. AB-InBev/AmBev also owns Quilmes, the South American country’s major brewer.