US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch (A-B) is said to be putting together a rival bid for Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), The Publican reported February 25.

Press reports suggested that A-B was preparing to throw its hat into the ring and counter Carlsberg and Heineken’s £7.8bn bid, which has been accepted in principal by the S&N board but which has yet to receive shareholder approval.

The Takeover Panel was expected to be monitoring closely S&N’s share price today – any sharp movements would probably require A-B to make a statement as to their plans.

At the time of writing S&N’s shares were trading at 789.5p, up 2.5p.

One City analyst believed an A-B bid was “feasible”.

“There are no competition issues, and A-B is keen to develop its exposure in developing markets, such as the former Eastern Bloc,” he said.

The analyst doubted the brewer would be interested in S&N’s UK assets.

With the S&N board having accepted an £8-a-share offer, observers suggested any rival bid would have to be at least £8.50 a share to prompt the board to reconsider its position.

Other observers noted that if an 820p offer came in the S&N board would be obliged to look at it.

Neither A-B or S&N were available for comment.

The world is to confront with another redistribution of beer market initiated by the beer giants Heineken and Carlsberg, the media reported February 25. Their recent take over of Scottish & Newcastle finally permitted to Heineken to be ranked on the top of UK beer market, and to Carlsberg to get access to the Eastern Europe beer markets.

Today, Carlsberg is ranked third on the world beer market. It has even surpassed its rival Anheuser-Busch, U.S. maker of Budweiser.

InBev, the Belgian beer giant (producer of Stella Artois, Beck’s etc.), has been also gradually weakening its positions and has no longer a formidable strength even in his country and in Portugal (historically its best markets), where the consumers prefers Heineken brands like Amstel, Zywiec and Tiger.

There is a serious slowdown in the growth of industry leader – SABMiller, the maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Castle. According to its representatives, the production capacities have grown only 4% in the first two months of 2008, much lower than the management expectations.

The Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar NP, which has been fighting a long legal battle with Anheuser-Busch over the Budweiser brand, said it boosted its exports to the United States by 37 percent last year due to a distribution deal with its U.S. archrival, The Associated Press reported February 26.

Budvar exported a total of some 11,000 hectoliters (289,500 gallons) of beer to the United States in 2007, compared with some 8,000 hectoliters (210,500 gallons) the previous year, the brewer said in a statement.

"The cooperation with the new U.S. distributor proved to be functioning well," it said.

In a deal announced in January last year, Anheuser-Busch agreed to distribute Budvar's Czechvar lager in the United States, giving the Czech company access to its U.S. competitor's unrivaled network of 600 independent wholesalers.

Although Budvar considers itself the maker of the original Budweiser, it has exported its lager to the U.S. under the name Czechvar since 2001 due to trademark issues.

Budvar has fought with U.S.-based beer giant Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. in a number of countries over use of the famous Budweiser brand, to which both companies claim a historical right.

Last year, Budvar's exports continued to grow to reach a record 587,000 hectoliters (15.5 million gallons), ...More Info

Beer sales in Romania amounted more than 1 billion euro in 2007 which is 25% more than in 2006, Wall-Street reported February 26.

Romanian beer market is expected to grow 5% in 2008, according to Constantin Bratu, general director of Romanian Beer Association.

According to him, this increase of 25% in beer sales is due to favourable weather conditions and to the investments made by Romanian Beer Association’s members.

“As of beer consumption per capita, it will grow till 95 litres”, he added.

The members of Romanian Beer Association – Heineken Romania, InBev Romania, United Romanian Breweries Bereprod and Ursus Breweries – sold 15.1 million hectoliters of beer in 2007, 20% more than in 2006.

Sapporo Holdings Ltd., Japan's third-largest beermaker, rejected a 155 billion yen ($1.43 billion) offer from Warren Lichtenstein's Steel Partners after a yearlong takeover battle, Bloomberg reported February 26.

An acquisition by Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund (Offshore) LP may “seriously harm'' shareholder interests, Sapporo said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The rejection leaves Steel Partners with the option of making a hostile bid for the Tokyo-based brewer whose real estate is worth more than twice as much as its beer business. Steel Partners, which has made a series of failed takeover bids in Japan since 2003, has urged Sapporo to boost returns by redeveloping property, reviewing its soft-drink unit and improving the marketing of its beers.

``Steel Partners has two options now: either they propose a hostile bid or simply accept the rejection,'' said Nobumichi Hattori, a finance professor at Tokyo's Hitotsubashi University and former Japan head of mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

In February last year, Steel Partners proposed to Sapporo management paying 825 yen a share to increase its stake to 66.6 percent. Ian Messer, a Steel Partners spokesman who works for PRAP Japan, declined to comment on the rejection.

Sapporo shares closed today at 776 yen, ...More Info

Baltika Breweries reported a 29% increase in beer sales in Belarus for 2007, according to media. The sales volume was of 0.5 million hectolitres, and the company’s market share increased to 11% from 10% in 2006.

Belarusian beer market is one of the fastest growing in Eastern Europe and is in Baltika’s top five by beer sales volumes. Per capita beer consumption in Belarus was of 45 litres whereas it was of only 28-30 litres in 2004. This grow is explained by the increase in people’s incomes and the change in drink culture toward low alcohol beverages.

The best-seller beer in 2007 was as for many years “Baltika No 3 - Klassiceskoe”. A genuine jump registered the beer “Kooler” with 1.5 million litres in sales, which is 11.7 times higher than a year ago. Other Baltika’s brands have also proved a good dynamic in sales increase: “Nevskoe” (+66% y/y), Carlsberg, Kronenbourg 1664, Foster’s, Tuborg (+79 % y/y).

The CWB released its first Pool Return Outlook (PRO) for the 2008-09 crop year, in a media release, February 25.

Malting barley

Malting barley prices are expected to improve for 2008-09 due to tight global supplies of old crop malting barley and strong demand projected for new crop supplies. The area devoted to barley is expected to decrease in the major exporting regions due to competition from other grains and oilseed crops. Overall, however, global production is expected to increase from the previous year, due to expected improved conditions in Australia.

The CWB's PRO for malting barley is based on a number of assumptions made during a time of considerable uncertainty for the industry, especially regarding potential federal government actions to move towards an open market for barley. The current PRO assumes that the CWB's single-desk authority will remain in place for the 2008-09 crop year. Any changes to that authority would effect the pool.

Feed barley

Pool A -- Feed barley prices are expected to remain strong in the 2008-09 year as supplies of feed grain are projected to decrease from 2007-08. A reduction in U.S. corn production, caused by a drop in area and continuing strong global demand, is expected to support barley ...More Info

As to State Statistics Committee, within this year January agricultural companies have reduced barley sales to 32,224 MT, down 14,738 MT (- 31.4%) against last year January, Agro Perspectiva reported February 25.

As for barley sales structure, companies have sold 5.9% total barley to processors; 2% barley were given to population (incl. public catering system) on account of salaries, 6% – to shareholders on account of land plots/property shares rental payment.

As to Committee, 13.3% total barley was sold on markets, while 72.8% were sold off through other trade channels.

In last year January agrarians had sold 46,962 MT of barley.

U.S. malting barley growers have faced the sobering reality of flat beer consumption for years now, Capital Press reported February 27.

In the United States, increased consumption of wine and distilled spirits has come at the expense of the beer industry.

In contrast, Mexico and the rest of Latin America have young, growing populations and a thirst for beer, said Kelly Olson, administrator of the Idaho Barley Commission.

"In Mexico, beer production and consumption has been growing at better than 5 percent a year for several years now and the outlook is very robust," Olson said.

The same positive growth trend is occurring elsewhere in Central and South America, said Olson, who attended a regional malting barley forum in Panama City, Panama in mid-January.

"All of these are growing beer markets," she said. "Beer is a preferred alcoholic beverage in practically every one of these markets."

The regional forum, organized by the U.S. Grains Council, was the first of its kind. The gathering attracted malt buyers from all across Latin American and resulted in several sales.

One brewery negotiated the purchase of more than 10,000 metric tons of U.S. malt during the conference, while three others negotiated smaller purchases, the USGC reported.

One Latin American buyer also reportedly ...More Info

Japan's Kirin Brewery Co. has started joint purchase of hops with an Australian beer company in a move to procure a stable supply of the key ingredient of beer and beer-like alcoholic drinks at low cost, Kirin officials said, according to Jiji Press, February 26.

The full-fledged joint hop procurement venture by Kirin Brewery and Sydney-based Lion Nathan Ltd., in which Kirin Brewery's parent, Kirin Holdings Co, has a 46 pct equity stake, followed a successful test project last autumn, the officials said.

It has become more difficult to procure hops and malt amid growing demand for biomass-derived eco-friendly fuels and resulting rises in raw material prices, Kirin Brewery President Senji Miyake said.

Under the joint procurement initiative, Kirin Brewery is buying hops from Europe and Lion Nathan from New Zealand. The New Zealand hops are now used in Kirin's Sparkling Hop quasi-beer.

The Japanese company is also considering joint hop procurement with its group firms in China, the officials said.

As for malt procurement, Kirin Brewery has been cooperating with three companies, including San Miguel Corp. of the Philippines, about 20 pct of which is owned by Kirin Holdings, they added.

M. J. Edney, J. K. Eglinton, H. M. Collins3, A. R. Barr, W. G. Legge, and B. G. Rossnagel


Abstract
J. Inst. Brew. 113(2), 228–238, 2007 Malt wort fermentability is dependent on an adequate supply of the essential nutrients required by yeast. The barley and malt factors affecting this supply of nutrients are not well understood. This study used two doubled haploid populations (Arapiles × Franklin, TR251 × HB345), the latter with a hulless barley parent, to investigate effects of barley and malt quality on fermentability. Populations were grown and malted at different locations resulting in a broad range in malt quality with significant differences in extract, modification and enzyme levels. Fermentability, as indicated by apparent attenuation limit and ethanol levels, also showed significant differences among samples. Modification was the most important factor for good fermentability. There appeared to be several different mechanisms by which modification affected fermentability. High viscosities, slow starch release during mashing, increased glucose supply from better b-glucan breakdown and increased free amino nitrogen levels all affected fermentability. Effects of starchdegrading enzymes on fermentability became more significant in better modified malts with a-amylase showing stronger effects than diastatic power. The poorer fermentability of hulless barley malt was predominately due to low levels of a-amylase, although, free amino nitrogen also appeared to be an important factor. Key words: Barley, hulless, b-glucan, ethanol, fermentable sugars, free amino nitrogen.
... Load full article, 10 pages, 478 Kb, PDF file