As reported by the BBJ earlier this week, Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings agreed to purchase five CEE beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev, among them Hungary’s Dreher. According to international law firm Allen & Overy, which took part in the deal as an advisor to Asahi, the acquisition is also the largest deal in Asahi’s 127-year history.
The transaction is worth EUR 7.3 billion and is expected to close in 2017. It follows Asahi’s EUR 2.55 bln acquisition of Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime earlier this year, again from AB InBev/ SABMiller, a deal on which A&O also advised the Japanese brewer.
“We have had a successful year across CEE, with a number of significant transactions across all our markets, such as the sale of Grupa Allegro for USD 3.25 bln (the second largest M&A transaction in Poland to date), the sale of Profi Rom in Romania, the investment by Corvinus and the EBRD in Erste Bank Hungary, and the sale of Slovenske elektrarne in Slovakia, to name but a few,” said Hugh Owen, partner at A&O leading the Hungarian team and head of the South Eastern Europe desk.
“The Asahi/SABMiller deal further confirms our position as a strategic advisor for the most significant M&A transactions in CEE.”
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