Asahi in £9bn Inbev swoop

AB Inbev, the world’s largest brewer, has offloaded its Australian business to Japanese company Asahi for £8.8bn.

Inbev said the sale of its Melbourne-headquartered subsidiary, Carlton & United Breweries, will help pay off debts accumulated when it snapped up rival SAB Miller in 2016.

It comes just a week after Inbev – which makes Budweiser, Beck’s and Stella Artois – pulled plans to list its Asian business in a deal that could have been worth £7.8bn.

Asahi’s purchase will allow it to expand even further in the country, already its second-largest overseas market after Europe.

The sale will also help Inbev in a battle to pay off its near-£79bn debt mountain.

Inbev was forced to halve its dividend in October following disappointing results.