Asahi to buy two SABMiller brands for over $ 3.5 b

Reuters: Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings has agreed to buy SABMiller’s Peroni and Grolsch beer brands and is likely to pay over 400 billion yen ($3.5 billion), the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.

Asahi is Japan’s biggest brewer with 38% market share. Known for its Super Dry beer, the company is looking to access growth outside Japan where beer sales have fallen over the past two decades due to a shrinking population and the growing popularity of wine.

An earlier line-up of bidders for Peroni and Grolsch beers included U.S. private equity firm KKR; Fraser and Neave, which is part of Thai Beverage; and European private equity firms PAI Partners and EQT.