Slovenia: InBev announced on February 11 the sale of its holding (41.32%) in Pivovarna Union to Pivovarna Lasko, for a cash consideration of 70.7 million euro.

InBev entered the Slovenian market in October 2001 when it acquired a 20% stake in Pivovarna Union, and signed a strategic partnership with Union. Gradually, InBev increased its participation in Union up to the 41.32% shareholding but did not reach majority ownership.

Today, Pivovarna Lasko bought InBev's stake in Pivovarna Union for a cash consideration of 70.7 million euro. As part of the transaction, InBev also agreed to terminate all pending local and international litigations relating to the Union brewery.
In return, InBev received a 'withdrawal fee' of 3.5 million euro, in addition to the consideration paid for the shares.

While, for the period since 2001 until today, we fully recover our initial investment, InBev's 2005 accounts will show a minor capital loss for this transaction. The transaction was signed and closed today and is no longer subject to any further conditions.

Both parties further agreed that the existing commercial contracts between Union and InBev will be evaluated during the next six months.

"We are pleased to close this challenging chapter in Slovenia in a very constructive way and on good terms with Lasko," said Stefan Descheemaeker, InBev Zone President Central and Eastern Europe.

InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: INB) based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume. InBev's strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted acquisitions, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, Brahma®, Beck's®, Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Staropramen® and Bass®. InBev employs some 77,000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2003, InBev realized a net turnover of approximately 9.3 billion euro (2003 pro forma).

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