Austrian drinks force BBAG Group is looking out for a strategic partner to help it become Central Europe's largest brewer. BBAG, which makes and distributes Goesser and Zipfer beers, has acquired 14 breweries abroad since 1991. The company is market leader in Austria and Romania and is among the top three in Hungary. The firm said it had already invited possible partners to submit concrete proposals and added a partnership would include all of its divisions, notably beer, non-alcoholic beverages and real estate.

"Undoubtedly, all of the major brewers should be interested in such a deal. Synergies range from ˆ15 per share for Carlsberg, virtually zero for Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) and ˆ35 for SAB and Heineken," WestLB Panmure beverage analyst Stuart Price said. “There could be regulatory issues in Hungary only (where Interbrew, SAB, and BBAG have similar market shares. Though the exact form of the strategic alliance is very much open, the danger is that BBAG may want equity - as did the Hartwall family with S&N,” he added.

"As we see it today, we would in principle not exclude a different shareholder structure, including the possibility of a change of ownership," the company said in a statement.

BBAG has a 29% market share in Hungary; 34% in Romania and 56% in Austria; 6% in Poland and 2% in Czech.

24 January, 2003