Darling, I got you a present
No, it was not one of the usual suspects. It was Adolph Coors, the no 3 US brewer, who picked up Carling Brewers at the pre-Christmas sale. Coors is paying Interbrew £1.2 billion (US$1.7 bn) for its Carling Division, which is only US$500 million more than Coors’ market capitalisation currently at US$2.2 billion. The Carling business had an EBITDA of around £150 million, which valued Carling
at an EBITDA multiple of 8 - much lower than Beck’s, for example. Coors said it would finance the deal with about US$200 million in cash and a combination of bank and public debt. The price was in accordance with market expectations.
Still, analysts were not happy with Coors’ choice and its shares fell US$2.98 or 5.0% to US$56.29.
The deal gives Coors a market share of 19%..
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