E-Malt.com News article: 3678

Russia: Alfa-Eco, a unit of Russian private financial company Alfa Group, might increase its stake in SUN Interbrew. This possibility was given by the court decision taken on November 3 in Safonovo town of Smolensk Region, according to which the court had annulled the preliminary approval given by the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service to InBev’s acquisition of its partner’s, the Sun Group, 34.25% stake in the business.

SUN Interbrew is a public company registered in Jersey, whose shares are listed and traded on the Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Berlin exchanges. SUN Interbrew Limited is the second largest brewer in Russia and the largest brewer in Ukraine. The company is a strategic partnership between InBev , the No. 1 global brewer, and the SUN Group, operating in the region since 1958, and in the beer sector of Russia and CIS since the beginning of 1990s. The company's main brands are Stella Artois®, Beck's®, Staropramen®, Klinskoye, Sibirskaya Korona, and Tolstiak in Russia, and Stella Artois®, Beck's®, Chernigivske, Rogan, Taller and Yantar in Ukraine.

Russian financial-industrial group Alfa Group already holds over 15% stake in Sun Interbrew.

On the other hand InBev apparently told it did not believe the court decision could stop the deal. InBev announced on August 12 2004 about the purchasing of its stake in Sun Interbrew from SUN Trade increasing in such a way its share up to 75.5%. The deal worth EUR 530 million and should have been concluded by the end of the year.


21 November, 2004