E-Malt.com News article: 1293

A stake in the German brewer and drinks group, Brau und Brunnen is under considerations to be bought by the German food company, Oetker Group, according to German press. The reports said that the German bank, HVB Group is now seeking a buyer for its 56% participation in Brau und Brunnen. HVB Group has about 12 bidders for a 75 % stake in the country's third-largest brewer Brau & Brunnen AG, Handelsblatt newspaper said, citing an unidentified spokesman for the lender. HVB is offering its 55.6 % stake, plus 11 % owned by investor group Donath and about 10 % held by Brau & Brunen itself to bidders including Oetker Group and its brewer unit Radeberger Group, the German newspaper said. The bank hopes to get a higher price with the package offer and through a reorganization that includes more purchases. Brau & Brunnen expects to be taken over by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Michael Hollmann said yesterday.

Brau und Brunnen, Dortmund-based brewery, which announced on July 8 the acquisition of southern German brewer Tucher Brau GmbH, said beer sales would decline by between 400,000 hectoliters (10.5 million gallons) and 500,000 hectoliters this year.


10 July, 2003