Asahi brewing up a bid for Carlton

JAPANESE beverage titan Asahi is believed to be considering a plan to buy Australian beer heavyweight Carlton & United Breweries.

Asahi is understood to be mulling a purchase of CUB — the brewer behind some of Australia’s best-known beers such as Victoria Bitter and Carlton Draught — from its Belgian parent.

A deal to buy the Australian brewer from Anheuser-Busch InBev could be worth between $6 billion and $7 billion.

It would mean Japanese companies own both Australia’s major brewers, CUB and Lion. Lion, owner of brands including Tooheys, XXXX and James Boag’s, is owned by Asahi’s rival, Kirin.

The revelation Asahi is eyeing CUB comes after Anheuser-Busch, the world’s biggest brewer, this week shelved plans for a $US10 billion ($14.2 billion) initial public offering in Hong Kong of its Asian business.

The division that was to be floated is called Budweiser Brewing Company APAC. It includes CUB and sells brands such as Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona and Hoegaarden in this region.

While discussions between Asahi and Anheuser-Busch regarding CUB have been ongoing, it is understood there is no certainty a deal will eventuate.

CUB, based in Melbourne, was part of the company formerly known as Foster’s Group and owns brands including Crown Larger, Cascade and Matilda Bay.

Foster’s was bought by Anglo-South African brewing major SABMiller in 2011 for more than $10 billion.

In 2016, SABMiller was bought by Anheuser-Busch. The Belgian drinks colossus is believed to be exploring divestments as it tries to drive down its debt.

Asahi is understood to have been examining potential acquisitions in the Australian market for some time.

It is believed to have been one of the contenders for the Lion dairy and juice business being hawked by Kirin.

A major deal would be unlikely to surprise industry analysts, who have widely tipped Asahi to be shopping for more assets and Anheuser-Busch is well known to the Japanese brewer.

In 2016, Asahi struck a deal worth almost $US3 billion to buy brands such as Peroni and Grolsch from the Belgian group.

It is understood AnheuserBusch has been open to offers for CUB since May, when it announced the plans to float key segments of its business on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The move to potentially sell the business comes as Australia’s dominant beer brands struggle with flat growth, while craft and up-market beers deliver premium returns. CUB’s market share last year was 48.8 per cent, up from 44.8 per cent five years earlier.

Lion’s share fell from 45.7 per cent to 36.4 per cent over the same period, according to reports earlier this year.