| Fri 13 Mar 2009, 10:30 | | SAB - SABMiller - Joint venture announces first acquisition in Shandong |
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SAB
SOSAB
SAB - SABMiller - Joint venture announces first acquisition in Shandong
Province
SABMiller
JSEALPHA CODE: SAB
ISSUER CODE: SOSAB
ISIN CODE: GB0004835483
13 March 2009
SABMiller joint venture announces first acquisition in Shandong Province
China Resources Snow Breweries Limited ("CR Snow"), SABMiller`s joint venture
in China with China Resources Enterprise, Limited ("CRE"), announces that it
has agreed to acquire the brewing assets of Shandong Hupo Brewery ("Hupo
Brewery") through the formation of a joint venture in which it will initially
own a 90% equity interest. CR Snow will acquire the remaining 10% within three
years after the joint venture is formed. The total cash consideration for the
acquisitions amounts to approximately $42 million.
Hupo Brewery is situated in Zouping county, northern Shandong Province. More
beer is consumed in Shandong Province than any other province in China and
Zouping County serves as a transportation hub to neighbouring major cities
such as Binzhou, Jinan, Zibo and Dongying.
Hupo Brewery has an annual production capacity of 2.7 million hectolitres and
upon completion of the acquisition, approximately $8 million will be spent on
technology upgrades to the existing facilities in order to increase its
capacity to 3 million hectolitres and ensure the production requirements are
sufficient to produce the brand SNOW.
On 26th February 2009, CR Snow announced that it had agreed to acquire three
breweries in each of Anhui, Liaoning and Zhejiang Provinces in three separate
transactions.
Mr. Ari Mervis, Managing Director of SABMiller Asia, said; "SNOW continues to
enjoy good growth in China and the significant import sales volume that the
brand already enjoys in the province certainly justifies the establishment of
a production base here. The brewery has a strategic location in northern
Shandong and is well connected by highways to the other major cities in this
region."
Mr. Long Chen, Managing Director of China Resources Enterprise, Limited said,
"The acquisition of Hupo Brewery will raise our market presence in Shandong
Province which is currently the largest beer sales province of China. It is a
major step for us to complete the distribution network in the coastal regions
of eastern China."
Ends
Notes to editors:
About SABMiller plc
SABMiller plc is one of the world`s largest brewers with brewing interests and
distribution agreements across six continents. The group`s wide portfolio of
brands includes premium international beers such as Grolsch, Miller Genuine
Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as market-leading
local brands such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow and Tyskie. SABMiller
is also one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world.
In the year ended 31 March 2008, the group reported US$3,639 million in
adjusted pre-tax profit and revenue of US$21,410 million. SABMiller plc is
listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
About China Resources Snow Breweries Limited
China Resources Snow Breweries Limited was established in 1993 and became a
joint venture with SABMiller plc in 1994. It is engaged in the production,
sales and marketing of beer in China. Its shareholders are China Resources
Enterprise, Limited and SABMiller Asia Limited, a subsidiary of SABMiller plc.
China Resources Enterprise, Limited has a 51% interest in China Resources Snow
Breweries Limited while SABMiller Asia Limited holds the remaining 49%
interest. It operates about 60 breweries in the Chinese Mainland with a total
sales volume of about 6.9 million kiloliters in 2007.
About China Resources Enterprise, Limited
China Resources Enterprise, Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
and is also one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong.
The Group focuses on the consumer businesses in both the Chinese Mainland and
Hong Kong, with core activities being retail, beverage, food processing and
distribution, textile and property investment.
This announcement is available on the company website: www.sabmiller.com
High resolution images are available for the media to view and download free
of charge from www.sabmiller.com or www.newscast.co.uk
Enquiries:
Tel: +44 20 7659 0100
SABMiller plc
Sue Clark Director of Corporate Tel: +44 20 7659 0184
Affairs
Gary Leibowitz Senior Vice President, Tel: +44 20 7659 0174
Investor Relations
Nigel Fairbrass Head of Media Relations Tel: +44 7799 894265
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the
solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire securities of SABMiller plc (the
"Company") or any of its affiliates in any jurisdiction or an inducement to
enter into investment activity.
This document includes "forward-looking statements". These statements may
contain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect" and
words of similar meaning. All statements other than statements of historical
facts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, those
regarding the Company`s financial position, business strategy, plans and
objectives of management for future operations (including development plans
and objectives relating to the Company`s products and services) are forward-
looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company`s present and future
business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in
the future.
These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this
announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking
to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement to reflect any change in the Company`s
expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based. Any information contained
in this announcement on the price at which the Company`s securities have been
bought or sold in the past, or on the yield on such securities, should not be
relied upon as a guide to future performance.
Date: 13/03/2009 10:30:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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