CVC selling StarBevto Molson Coors
Molson Coors, the US brewing giant, is to acquire StarBev, a central and east European brewer, from its private equity owner CVC in a deal worth €2.65bn (£2.2bn).
The brewer of Coors Light and Carling said the acquisition would strengthen its portfolio of premium brands and expand its presence into "growth markets around the world".
The Prague-based StarBev, which brews Staropramen lagers, was established when CVC bought the central European operations of Anheuser-Busch InBev in December 2009. Peter Swinburn, the chief executive of Molson Coors, said: "The central and eastern European beer market is attractive, with strong historical trends and upside potential as the region returns to its pre-economic-crisis growth rates."
StarBev has nine breweries, including in the Czech Republic and Serbia, and delivered underlying profits of €241m in 2011, on turnover of nearly €700m.
Molson Coors is financing the acquisition with $3bn in debt and cash, in addition to €500m of convertible debt issued to CVC.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies