SABMiller in talks to buy brewer in Romania
March 19, 2004
By Bloomberg
London - SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer, was in talks to buy Romanian brewer Aurora Brasov for as much as $30 million (R202.4 million) to take advantage of beer consumption in the country, the Ziarul Financiar daily reported yesterday.
SABMiller would become the second-largest brewer in Romania, with almost 19 percent of the country's beer market if it acquired Aurora, the local paper said, citing unidentified sources familiar with the transaction.
SABMiller already has 15 percent of the market from the Timisoreana and Ursus brands.
Beer consumption had almost doubled in Romania in the past seven years to almost 13 million hectolitres in 2003, the paper said, mainly as western companies bought domestic brewers and started brewing their own brands.
Austria's Brau Union has the biggest market share, with 32 percent, while Belgium's Interbrew ranks second, with 15.4 percent.
SABMiller also invested $46 million to start joint ventures in the French-speaking areas of Algeria and Morocco with its African partner, the Castel Group of France.
SABMiller is paying Castel $25 million for stakes in Algerian soft drink and brewing plants, and $21 million for a stake in a holding company that controls breweries and other businesses in Morocco, according to a statement from the company.
SABMiller said it effectively owned 40 percent of the ventures.
SABMiller has a brewing presence in over 40 countries across four continents.
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
