Australia & China: Foster's sells Shanghai brewing business
Foster's Group Limited (Foster's Group) agreed June 15 to sell its Shanghai brewing business and local Chinese beer brands to Suntory Limited for an undisclosed amount, the company released June 15.
Foster's Group retains ownership and distribution rights for Foster's Lager (and its other international beer brands) in China and is committed to developing the brand in China and the high growth Asian markets.
The transaction is unconditional and is expected to complete on Tuesday, 20 June 2006.
Foster’s Group in China
Foster's Group entered the Chinese market in 1993, acquiring majority stakes in the Shanghai, Guangdong and Tianjin breweries, Foster's Group sold the Guangdong and Tianjin breweries in 1999.
The Foster's Shanghai brewery was originally built in 1935 and has undergone two significant capacity and technology upgrades, the first in 1987 and the second in 1997. With production capacity of 1 million hectolitres, the brewery produces the Shanghai Lager, Guangming, Qing Yi, Yi Hao and has been brewing the Foster's Lager brand since 1997.
The Foster’s Brand
First brewed in 1888 by the Foster brothers in Melbourne, Australia, Foster's Lager is one of the world's best beers. As one of only a handful of truly global beer brands, Foster's in now available in over 150 countries. Foster's is one of the fastest growing international premium beer brands in the world and has enjoyed international growth of 40% since 1997. Foster's is brewed in 12 countries, at 17 locations with over 100 million cases of Foster's sold annually.
Suntory in China
In 1984, Suntory established China Jiangsu Suntory Foods Co., Ltd. in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, as the first foreign company to become a joint venture brewer in China. The company entered the fast growing beer market in Shanghai in 1995 and achieved the number one position in Shanghai in 1999.
Suntory Shanghai has maintained a steady growth and produced and sold the first draft beer in the region. In 2005, Suntory acquired the Shanghai Donghai Brewery, and now holds a 54% market share in Shanghai
Foster's has two breweries in Vietnam, one in India, six in Australia, two in Fiji and one in Samoa.
The company gets less than 4 percent of earnings from overseas beer sales, which includes Europe, Asia and North America.
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