Una utile Bloomberg che fa il punto sulla situazione del debito corto di Anheuser-Busch InBev. Dopo la cessione alla nipponica Ashai della propria quota nella cinese Tsingtao, ora AB Inbev avrebbe messo sul mercato Oriental Brewery, la filiale sudcoreana, con l'intento di ricavarne fra i 2 ed i 2,5 mld $.
Ove la vendita andasse a buon fine, AB Inbev avrebbe ripagato la parte corta del bridge loan contratto per l'acquisizione di Anheuser-Busch, pari a 7 mld $, con circa 3 mld ancora da pagare dopo le operazioni già intraprese, fra le quali il lancio del prestito obbligazionario.
Dopo la diffusione della notizia, la giapponese Ashai ha smentito il proprio interessamento per Orental Breweries.
Faccio disclosure, per avere comprato un bond di AB Inbev giorni addietro.
AB InBev Said to Seek Up to $2.5 Billion for Korean Beer Unit
By Cathy Chan and Andrew Cleary
Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) --
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world’s largest brewer, is seeking as much as $2.5 billion for its South Korean unit and has asked potential buyers to submit bids this month, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Leuven, Belgium-based maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois approached companies ranging from South Korea’s
Lotte Group and Japan’s
Asahi Breweries Ltd. to
SABMiller Plc, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential. Buyout funds, including Affinity Equity Partners Ltd.,
MBK Partners Ltd. and Unitas Capital, are also among potential bidders, they said.
Offers for the Oriental Brewery unit may come in at $2 billion to $2.5 billion, the people said. At that price, AB InBev may be able to repay almost all of the near-term debt stemming from the $52 billion merger that formed the company last year, uniting the biggest European and U.S. brewers.
“AB InBev has already taken crucial steps toward solving any short-term financing problems, and this sale would further improve that story,”
Gerard Rijk, an analyst at ING, said by phone. He added that “$2.5 billion, even $2 billion, would be a fantastic price and much higher than expected.”
Initial bids for Oriental Brewery, which is wholly owned by the Belgian brewer, are expected by the third week of February, the people said.
Marianne Amssoms, a spokeswoman for Anheuser-Busch InBev, and
Nigel Fairbrass, a London-based spokesman at SABMiller, both declined to comment, as did officials and press officers for Lotte, Asahi, Affinity, MBK and
Unitas.
Paying Merger Debt
Bain Capital and Carlyle Group are also considering bids, though they’re unlikely to win because of a dearth of financing and the weakening economy, two people familiar with the funds’ plans said. Officials at both firms declined to comment.
Shares of AB InBev added 10 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 19.16 euros at 1 p.m. in Brussels. They’ve gained 16 percent this year after losing half their value in 2008, when the brewer opted for a sale of discounted stock to help pay down the Anheuser deal debt as global economies and markets slumped.
The company, led by Chief Executive Officer
Carlos Brito, is also conserving cash by cutting jobs in the U.S. and Germany.
AB InBev’s $7 billion bridge loan, due for repayment in November, has already been whittled down by $3.5 billion of capital dedicated from a $5 billion bond sale, and will also be lowered by last month’s agreement to sell almost 20 percent of China’s Tsingtao Brewery Co. to Asahi for $667 million. Including longer-term loans, the Belgian brewer took on $45 billion of debt in the Anheuser deal.
‘Not Under Pressure’
A sale of Oriental at the asking price would mean “they are not really under pressure anymore,” Rijk said. Anheuser-Busch InBev “could pay the remainder of the bridge with free cash flow.” He estimated that after capital-gains tax from the Asahi sale, the brewer has $3 billion left to raise.
Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are advising AB InBev on the sale. Deutsche Bank spokesman
Michael West declined to comment, as did JPMorgan spokeswoman
Marie Cheung.
AB InBev is seeking to sell Oriental at a higher valuation than Lotte paid when it acquired Doosan Corp.’s liquor business for $383 million last month, according to one of the people familiar with the plans. That transaction valued the Doosan unit at about 13 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and goodwill amortization, the person said.
Oriental’s sales rose more than 10 percent in each of the past two years, the person said.
Lotte has increased cash on hand as it prepares to bid for Oriental Brewery, Yonhap News reported yesterday, citing unidentified people. The South Korean company may team up with Asahi and other partners for a joint offer, the report said.
Growing Market
Beer sales by South Korean brewers rose 9.7 percent to 1.63 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in 2007 after advancing 1.6 percent the year before, according to
Hite Brewery Co., the only other Korean producer. Hite, citing data from Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association, said it had 58 percent of the market for domestically-made beer, compared with 42 percent for Oriental.
Local brewers face a tougher outlook in 2009 as the economy deteriorates and the falling won increases the cost of raw materials bought overseas. Hite Brewery had its share rating and
target price cut by BNP Paribas SA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in the last two months because of the bleaker earnings outlook.
Hite Brewery shares gained 0.3 percent to 152,000 won at 11 a.m. in Seoul today, valuing the company at 1.45 trillion won.