E-Malt.com News article: Belgium & Germany: InBev sells stake in Bremer Erfrischungsgetränke to Coca-Cola

Global leading brewery, InBev S.A., announced on July 20 the sale of its 62,4% interest in Bremer Erfrischungsgetränke GmbH to Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG based on an enterprise value of 137 million euro.

These Coca-Cola bottling activities in Germany became part of InBev following the acquisition of Beck & Co in 2002. The sale results in a one time gain of some 17 million euro as compared to the book value.

More importantly, the divestiture is consistent with InBev's commitment to free up capital invested from a non-core asset, thereby driving value creation and enabling enhanced focus on our core German beer business. The company said it expects this transaction to close in September 2005.

InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: INB) based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume. InBev's strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted acquisitions, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, BRAHMA®, Beck's®, Skol®-the third-largest selling beer brand in the world-Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Staropramen® and Bass®. InBev employs some 77,000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2004, InBev realized a net turnover of 8.57 billion euro (including four months of AmBev). For further information visit www.inbev.com.


20 July, 2005