Chile, Santiago: Chile's largest brewer CCU will support plans by key shareholder Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. to sell its 20 % interest in the company, CCU said on Thursday, October 7. Last March, CCU's board of directors said it would support plans by U.S.-based Anheuser Busch, maker of Budweiser beer, to sell its stake, but the transaction has taken longer than initially expected, Reuters revealed.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the board agreed to take further steps to support the sale. "The board of directors agreed to undertake the necessary procedures to formalize its support ... for a secondary share offer in national and international arenas to be carried out by Anheuser-Busch ...," the company said in a statement. CCU did not say when the offer would take place.

The withdrawal of Anheuser-Busch, which analysts said signals a weaker presence for the company in the competitive South American market, is due to conflicts with Dutch rival Heineken NV, which indirectly bought a controlling stake in CCU last year despite Anheuser-Busch's efforts to prevent it.

Heineken took a 50 percent stake in Inversiones y Renta, or IRSA, the holding company which controls 61.6 percent of CCU. Quinenco owns the other 50 percent of IRSA. CCU's shares on the Santiago Stock Exchange fell 0.72 percent to 2,759.90 pesos each in early afternoon trade on Thursday.

10 October, 2004