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China Resources Beer explores possibility of minority stake in the Asian unit of world’s largest brewer
- AB InBev scrapped plans for a US$9.8 billion listing in Hong Kong of its Asian unit in July
- China Resources Beer share price surges 7.84 per cent to all-time high on net profit report
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China Resources Beer, maker of the world’s bestselling beer Snow, said on Friday it is exploring the possibility of acquiring a minority stake in Budweiser APAC, the Asian unit of Belgian-based Anheuser-Busch InBev.
“We’re paying close attention to this issue and evaluating its business, but we have yet to decide whether we are interested and if [the acquisition] will fit into the expansion plans for China Resources Beer,” executive director and chief executive Hou Xiaohai said in response to a reporter’s question at the company’s interim results conference.
AB InBev, weighed down with debt after its acquisition of SABMiller, had filed for a listing of its Asian business in Hong Kong. In a shock announcement, it shelved plans for the US$9.8 billion initial public offering in July, which would have been the world’s largest IPO this year. It cited “prevailing market conditions” after it was unable to command a high enough price.
A week later, AB InBev in another dramatic turn agreed to sell its Australian unit to Japan-based Asahi Group Holdings. The US$11.3 billion sale was a backup plan months in the making, and while it raised more than the IPO would, the world’s largest brewer said it still believed in the rationale of offering a minority stake of Asian business Budweiser APAC, now excluding Australia, provided it could be completed at “the right valuation”, Reuters reported.
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