EU & Japan: EU Commission clears Asahi�s acquisition of SABMiller�s Central and Eastern Europe assets

The European Commission (EC) on March 2 cleared Japan's Asahi acquisition of the business of Belgian-based multinational beverage and brewing company AB InBev in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), SeeNews reported.

In mid-December, Asahi said it will pay 7.3 billion euro ($7.73 billion) to AB InBev for the Central and Eastern European assets of SABMiller. AB InBev took over SABMiller in October for $104 billion.

Under the deal, Asahi Group will buy SABMiller's beer assets in Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

"The Commission concluded that the acquisition would raise no competition concerns because of the very limited increment brought by the transaction and the presence of several beer competitors in the markets in question. The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure," it said in a press release.

This is Asahi's biggest-ever overseas deal and is part of the group's strategy to expand its presence in Europe.

Asahi Group Holdings is a global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food company founded in 1949 in Tokyo, Japan.