Anheuser-Busch Cos, the world's biggest beermaker, entered a bidding contest with SABMiller Plc for Harbin Brewery Group in the first takeover battle by overseas investors for a company in China.
Anheuser-Busch bought a 7 percent stake in Harbin Brewery from Capital Group Cos for HK$388.2 million (US$50 million) at a price 30 percent more than last week's takeover bid by SABMiller.
Anheuser-Busch must make a general offer now because its holding exceeds 30 percent, said Ernest Lau, spokesman for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
The two companies are competing for a share of a US$6 billion market that Harbin Brewery forecasts will grow 6 percent a year this decade, as Chinese incomes rise. Interbrew SA, Heineken NV and other overseas brewers have formed partnerships with Chinese beermakers as consumption slows in the US and Europe.
"Generally, they are looking to establish their market presence in China," said Richard Wong, a fund manager at HSBC Asset Management. "This reflects the growing importance of China as a consumer market. With per capita wealth increasing 10 percent a year, China will be an attractive market, and it is important to enter as early as possible."
The takeover offer by Anheuser-Busch for all the Harbin Brewery shares it doesn't already own must be "made as soon as possible," Lau said.
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch raised its stake in China's largest brewer to 36 percent by buying 69.6 million shares at HK$5.58 each from Capital Group, the third-largest US mutual fund. That exceeds the 29.4 percent stake held by London-based SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer.
"We've obviously noted it, and we expect to issue a statement shortly," SABMiller spokeswoman Sue Clark said.
SABMiller last week offered HK$3.04 billion, or US$4.30 a share, for the shares it doesn't already own.
The beer battle began on May 2, when Anheuser-Busch announced that it bought a 29 percent stake in Harbin Brewery for HK$1.08 billion. It beat out SABMiller, which had been hoping to double its holding in the brewer by buying the same stake from the Harbin city government.
SABMiller responded by announcing a general offer for the Chinese beermaker three days later. Harbin Brewery shares have since traded above SABMiller's offer price, as investors bet on a counterbid from Anheuser Busch. The stock, which halted trading today, rose 58 percent in May.
The Chinese brewer, which makes Harbin and Hapi beers, asked shareholders to reject SABMiller's offer and hired CLSA Ltd, the Asian investment-banking unit of France's biggest bank, as its financial adviser. SABMiller is being advised by ABN Amro Holding NV and Anglo-Chinese Corporate Finance Ltd.
China's 1.3 billion people consume an average 19 liters of beer a year, compared with 39 liters in South Korea, 53 in Japan and 80 in Australia, according Australian brewer Lion Nathan Ltd.
China was the biggest producer of beer in the world the past two years, surpassing the US, the China Securities Journal reported on March 10.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS