AB InBev sells 5 brands of beer to Asahi, for € 7.3 billion

Brussels-Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) today announced that it has closed the sale of five brands of beer from Eastern Europe to the Japanese Asahi Group Holdings, in a transaction valued at 7.3 billion euros ($ 7.8 billion).
The agreement gives greater international presence to Asahi, which is a major producer of beer in Japan, but a small competitor in the global scope, with only 1.2% share, according to Euromonitor International.
Under the agreement, Asahi will assume before belonging to SABMiller brands in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.
AB InBev is selling assets as part of a deal with European regulators to ensure the approval of its acquisition of SABMiller. The merger of the two giants of the beer sector was completed in October.
Asahi has partnered with private equity funds and other companies to launch an offer for AB InBev brands.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Asahi''s shares closed down 4.6% on Tuesday after the Japanese newspaper Nikkei report on the likely deal with AB InBev 1 hour before the closing of the trading floor.