SABMiller, the world's third-largest brewer, said its Chinese venture would acquire two breweries in northern China for a combined $22.4 million to expand in the world's biggest beer market.

China Resources Snow Breweries will pay $17.7 million for a brewery in Shanxi Province and $4.7 million for another in the neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, SABMiller said. "These acquisitions represent a natural progression for us, as we look to develop our current footprint across the northern and northeastern regions," said Andre Parker, a managing director of SABMiller. SABMiller owns 46 Chinese breweries in 13 provinces, mostly along the affluent eastern coast, and sells its Snow-branded beer nationwide.

SABMiller, created from the merger of South African Breweries and Miller Brewing, has been buying companies since 2000 in emerging markets including China and India, as beer consumption in the United States and Western Europe declines. SABMiller, which is based in London, competes with InBev, Anheuser-Busch and Carlsberg in China, where the market grows 5 percent annually.

SABMiller said in October that its China Resources Snow venture has become the largest Chinese brewer by sales volume, beating domestic rival Tsingtao Brewery. Shanxi and Inner Mongolia have a combined population of 58 million and beer sales in the regions rose strongly in the first half, China Resources Snow said Friday.

SABMiller, the brewer of Pilsner Urquell, can afford to make more acquisitions and will seek opportunities in Asia, Malcolm Wyman, the company's chief financial officer, said Nov. 9. In 2004, SABMiller lost a bid to Anheuser- Busch, the world's biggest brewer, to take over Harbin Brewery Group, a beer maker in northeast China.

Kirin Brewery, the largest Japanese beverage maker, said Friday it paid ¥4.5 billion, or $38 million, for a 25 percent stake in Hangzhou Qiandaohu Brewery of China, with the right to increase its ownership to 49 percent.

"With this investment, we have solidified our business base in an important Chinese region," Kazuyasu Kato, president of Kirin, said at a news conference. "If there are other good partners, we'd also like to work with them on business tie-ups."

The company, which also holds a 20 percent stake in the Philippine brewer San Miguel, is constructing a factory in China and promoting its brands in the provinces of Hangzhou and Jiangsu near Shanghai.

Kirin China Investment Company, a wholly owned Kirin subsidiary, acquired its stake in the Chinese company through the allocation of new shares from the Chinese brewer and the purchase of shares from existing shareholders.

Source:佚名