| Thu 28 Jun 2001, 0:00 | | South African Breweries Makes Second Acquisition I |
|
London, 28 June 2001: South African Breweries plc (SAB), one of the world's
leading brewers with operations in 22 countries, today announces it has
acquired, through its subsidiary company, SAB India Limited (SABI), a
controlling 76% interest in Mysore Breweries Limited (MBL), a company listed
on the Bangalore Stock Exchange. The purchase consideration for SAB's
interest is US$ 17.6 million, or 500 rupees per share. Under the terms of
Securities and Exchange Board of India regulations, a simultaneous public
offer will be made to the MBL minority shareholders. The acquisition will be
funded from SAB's internal resources.
Strategically, MBL will afford SABI access to the important southern Indian
beer markets of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which are three
of the four largest beer consuming states in India.
Graham Mackay, CEO of SAB plc said: "This latest acquisition continues our
strategy of building local dominance and investing in fast growing markets.
MBL complements SAB's existing operations in India and will provide
substantial opportunities for future expansion in the country, which with
its population of over one billion people and low per capita beer
consumption, offers significant growth potential."
The MBL Group operates two breweries with a combined capacity of 480 000
hectolitres, situated at Bangalore and Aurangabad, employing a total of 250
people.
In the financial year ended 31 March 2000, the MBL Group reported turnover
and operating profit of US$18.5 million and US$2.3 million respectively.
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. South African Breweries is the world's leading brewer in emerging
markets, with major brewing and distribution operations in Africa, Central
and Eastern Europe and Asia. It is the world's fifth largest brewer overall
by volume with 82 breweries in 22 countries and over 34,000 employees. In
the year to March 31 2001 SAB generated US$731 million pretax profit from a
turnover of US$4.184 billion. The company is listed on both the London and
the Johannesburg stock exchanges.
2. SAB has operated in India since October 2000, when it bought the Narang
Brewery, located near Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The brewery,
which has a capacity of 120,000 hectolitres, has recently been modernized
and commenced full production in April 2001. The company has set up its
Corporate Office in New Delhi.
For further information:
Nick Chaloner, Director of Communications,
SAB plc +44 (0) 20 7659 0119
Mob: +44 (0) 7880 502 755
Anna Miller, Head of Investor Relations
SAB plc +44 (0) 20 7659 0106
Mob: +44 (0) 7973 837 070
Salome Brown, Corporate Communications,
SAB plc 27 (0) 11 407 1700
This announcement is available on the SAB website at www.sabplc.com
