Japanese beer maker Asahi to borrow US$11 billion to complete purchase of AB InBev’s Australian business
- Japanese brewer agreed to buy Carlton & United Breweries after AB InBev briefly shelved Hong Kong IPO of Asian business last year
- Transaction will give Asahi a bigger presence in Australia, where it already sells its Asahi Super Dry lager
Asahi Group Holdings plans to borrow 1.19 trillion yen (US$11 billion) from Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation to complete its long-brewing purchase of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Australian business.
AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, agreed to sell its Australian business for A$16 billion (US$11 billion) to Asahi in July last year, after briefly shelving the Hong Kong initial public offering of its Asia-Pacific arm, Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, amid months of anti-government street protests in the city.
The bulk of the proceeds from the sale of the Australian unit, Carlton & United Breweries, is expected to be used to pay down debt. AB InBev’s debt topped US$95 billion at the end of 2019, following its acquisition of rival SABMiller two years earlier.
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It was the second-biggest listing in Hong Kong last year after Alibaba Group Holding’ US$12.9 billion secondary listing in the city. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.