Colombia: Trade in Colombian beer maker Bavaria was suspended on Monday, January 24, after the stock jumped 18 percent on speculation big foreign brewers were looking to buy it, traders said. According to Reuters, the stock, which cannot now be traded until Tuesday, closed at 36,760 pesos compared with 31,120 pesos at the close on Friday.

It has now jumped 36% since the close last Wednesday before reports surfaced that SABMiller (SAB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (SABJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) was leading a tussle between big brewers to buy Bavaria.

South America's second-largest brewer has responded that it has no received no offer and has no immediate plans to sell. But it also said it would be interested if it received an offer as high as $9 billion, a figure cited as a possibility in the Financial Times.

Analysts said $9 billion is too high for Bavaria, which is controlled by Colombian magnate Julio Mario Santo Domingo, and that $6 billion to $7 billion is a more likely price. "The market is still skeptical about the company's denial. It's speculation, but there's a feeling among many people that's where there's smoke there's fire," Alvaro Camaro, analyst at Bogota brokerage Promotora Bursatil.

26 January, 2005