AB InBev to sell SABMiller's stake in brewer of Snow Beer to China Resources for $1.6bn

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is to sell SABMiller's stake in China Resources Snow Breweries (CR Snow), the company which makes Snow beer. SAB's 49% stake will be sold to China Resources Enterprises (CRE), its joint venture partner in CR Snow, which holds the remaining 51% stake. The deal valued at $1.6bn (£1.15bn, €1.47bn) will ensure full ownership of China's top beer brand by one single company.

In a filing to the Hong Kong bourse, the state-backed CRE said it has reached an agreement with AB InBev, the Belgian-Brazilian giant, on the deal. It is now subject to approvals by regulatory authorities and the completion of the AB InBev-SABMiller acquisition, which was announced in November 2015 and which is expected to dominate the beer industry by combining the world's two biggest brewers.

The deal will also help AB InBev, the maker of Stella Artois and Budweiser, to get a nod from Chinese regulators on its SAB takeover as the sale in CR Snow is expected to allay the competition concerns the regulators may have had on its SAB deal.

To counter such anti-competitive concerns by regulators in other countries, AB InBev has already agreed to sell SAB's stake in its MillerCoors venture in America to Molson Coors for $12bn and will sell its Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands to Asahi Group, Japan's biggest brewer.

Snow lager is currently the best selling beer in the world. Each year, it is estimated to sell about 100 million hectolitres or 18 billion pints. This is significantly more than the 45 million hectolitres of beer sold annually in the UK.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is to sell SABMiller's stake in China Resources Snow Breweries (CR Snow), the company which makes Snow beer. SAB's 49% stake will be sold to China Resources Enterprises (CRE), its joint venture partner in CR Snow, which holds the remaining 51% stake. The deal valued at $1.6bn (£1.15bn, €1.47bn) will ensure full ownership of China's top beer brand by one single company.

In a filing to the Hong Kong bourse, the state-backed CRE said it has reached an agreement with AB InBev, the Belgian-Brazilian giant, on the deal. It is now subject to approvals by regulatory authorities and the completion of theAB InBev-SABMiller acquisition, which was announced in November 2015 and which is expected to dominate the beer industry by combining the world's two biggest brewers.

The deal will also help AB InBev, the maker of Stella Artois and Budweiser, to get a nod from Chinese regulators on its SAB takeover as the sale in CR Snow is expected to allay the competition concerns the regulators may have had on its SAB deal.

To counter such anti-competitive concerns by regulators in other countries, AB InBev has already agreed to sell SAB's stake in itsMillerCoors venture in Americato Molson Coors for $12bn and will sell its Peroni, Grolsch andMeantime brands to Asahi Group, Japan's biggest brewer.

Snow lager iscurrently the best selling beer in the world. Each year, it is estimated to sell about 100 million hectolitres or 18 billion pints. This is significantly more than the 45 million hectolitres of beer sold annually in the UK.

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