E-Malt.com News article: 671

Germany's biggest brewer Holsten Brauerei said on February 19 it was not aware of any takeover approach after newspapers reported that a foreign investor had snapped up a 14% stake. "We have no indications of any such activity," Holsten spokesman Udo Franke said, adding that the company was not in talks with any potential buyers.

Shares in the Hamburg-based firm, which produces premium brand Holsten Pilsener and brews Foster's under licence for the German market, were up 9.25 % at EUR 24.1 by 1107 GMT. The stock, which has a free-float of 37%, has gained 23% in 2003 to trade near two-year highs, giving the company a market value of some EUR 360 million ($385.9 million).

The Financial Times Deutschland said a foreign investor had bought a 13.84% stake from Pivo Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, which is majority-owned by Commerzbank. Focus Money magazine said Scottish & Newcastle was talking to Holsten's main shareholder, Christian Eisenbeiss, about buying his 34.5 percent stake.

STRONG PULL Germany's large but fragmented beer market is proving too strong a pull for foreign brewers to resist. The FT cited industry experts as saying that New York-based Eisenbeiss may have bought the Pivo stake in order to strengthen his hand in negotiations on the sale of his shares. Domestic beer sales rose 2.5 percent to 8.7 million hl while exports declined by 19.5 percent to 1.1 million due to discontinued sales of low-margin own brands to the retail trade.


20 February, 2003