SABMiller: Ghana ripe for cassava beer
Multinational brewers have been doing a roaring trade in Africa lately, but with normal lagers too expensive for many consumers there is now an increasing focus on products for the mass market.
SABMiller has already rolled out its lower-cost cassava beer in Mozambique (called Impala). Now it’s launching a cassava based beer in Ghana, to be brewed by its local subsidiary, Accra Brewery, and called Eagle. Continue reading »
Investors mull SABMiller China deal
SABMiller‘s latest Chinese acquisition has had a decidely mixed reception in the stock market.
The global brewer and its Chinese partner China Resources Enterprise (CRE) announced on Wednesday that they would pay Rmb5.38bn ($846m) for the beer operations of Kingway Brewery Holdings, a regional producer based in wealthy Guangdong province.
This is small beer for SABMiller and its shares barely moved on Thursday. But in Hong Kong, CRE fell 3 per cent while Kingway soared 16 per cent before closing 7 per cent higher. Continue reading »
SAB Miller: EMs propping up the bar
Strong sales in emerging markets have propped up SAB Miller’s profits – again – despite the slowdown in the global economy and unfavourable foreign exchange and input costs.
The question is how long will it last? Continue reading »
African beer: controlled explosion
SABMiller has, in 18 months, doubled the number of African countries where it sells its local Chibuku beer.
But growth is not the only explosive thing about Chibuku, as drinkers of the brew well know. It ferments in the package so it doesn’t have much fizz (or alcohol) on day one; But by day four it is up to full strength; keep it much longer and you could be in for an inadvertent soaking. Continue reading »
CEE beer: Molson Coors enters the fray
Canadian brewer Molson Coors says its $3.54bn acquisition of StarBev will put the group in the top rank of beer companies in the fast-moving emerging markets of central and eastern Europe.
But with the outstanding exception of Staropramen, StarBev’s brands are not premier league. Molson may struggle to boost their performance in the region in the face of some of its biggest global rivals, including Carlsberg, SABMiller, and Heineken. Continue reading »
SABMiller: Argentina’s new underdog
SABMiller is at last playing in Latin America’s big leagues. Currently, the South African brewer operates very profitably in six countries on the continent, holding 70-98 per cent of the market in each one. If consumers are drinking anything other than an SABMiller brand, it’s more likely to be illegal liquor than another multinational’s beer.
But the company has so far missed out on Latin America’s largest three economies: Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Now it’s buying Argentina’s third-biggest brewer, setting up a clash with the dominant player, Brazil’s AB InBev. That’s a sign of SABMiller’s confidence – and of investors’ increasing interest in Argentina, where the death of former president Néstor Kirchner has raised hopes of greater economic stability. Continue reading »
Deal of the day: Carlsberg wins battle of Chongqing
By Paul Francis-Grey of mergermarket
Carlsberg’s $349m deal to increase its interest in Chongqing Brewery to 29.71 per cent from 17.46 per cent, announced today, highlights the Danish company’s ambitions for growth in Asia.
The company fought off stiff competition from companies including Anheuser-Busch InBev and China Resources Snow Breweries (Hua Run Xue Hua) – a partnership between SABMiller and China Resources – to buy the 12.25 per cent stake paying Rmb40.22 per share. The company was trading at Rmb37.00 per share prior to the transaction. Continue reading »
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