The Venezuelan company, Cisneros Group has declared that it has acquired a further 4,828,609 shares in the Peruvian brewer, Backus & Johnston (Backus), from minority shareholders for $77.26m. Cisneros said that it had acquired 87.86% of the minority shares it was seeking to buy. "We continue to be very enthusiastic about our interests in Backus & Johnston," said Cisneros spokesperson, Susan Ainsworth.
The Peruvian market regulator, Conasev, is currently investigating allegations, made by the Venezuelan brewer, Polar, which has also acquired a stake in Backus, that Cisneros has colluded with the Colombian brewer, Bavaria, in a bid to take control of Backus without triggering a full public offer.
E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .