24th Aug 2007 10:00
SABMiller PLC24 August 2007 Ref 28/2007 24 August 2007 SABMiller joint venture makes China acquisitions in Liaoning, Anhui and Hunan Provinces China Resources Snow Breweries Limited ("CR Snow"), SABMiller's joint venture inChina with China Resources Enterprise, Limited (or "CRE"), has announced that ithas agreed to acquire four breweries in separate transactions. Two breweries arein Liaoning province, one brewery is in Anhui and one is in Hunan province. Thetotal investment cost for the four acquisitions is US$79m, which includes a cashconsideration of US$57.0m. CR Snow has agreed to acquire an 80% equity interest in Liaoning YalujiangBrewery Company Limited ("Yalujiang Brewery") and the brewing assets of HuludaoJuhua Brewery Company Limited ("Juhua Brewery") through a joint venture in whichit will own an 85% equity interest. It is also acquiring the brewing assets ofAnhui Wanpi Brewery Company Limited ("Wanpi Brewery") and a 100% equity interestin Hunan Xinghua Brewery Company Limited ("Xinghua Brewery"). All four brewerieswill benefit from enhanced investment in their facilities to bring them up to CRSnow's production standards. Liaoning province is located in the north-east of China with a population ofabout 42 million inhabitants. At present, CR Snow has eight breweries inLiaoning province and is the leading brewer there. It has total productioncapacity of over 11 million hectolitres but the existing plants are close tofull capacity. The addition of Yalujiang Brewery at Dandong in south-easternLiaoning and Juhua Brewery in western Liaoning will provide immediate additionalproduction capacity of 2.7 million hectolitres. The breweries will also enhancedistribution efficiency, extending CR Snow's reach over this extensive province. Located in the north-eastern county, Wuhe in Anhui province, Wanpi Brewery willboost CR Snow's production capacity there to approximately 14 millionhectoliters. It will also generate synergies with CR Snow's existing breweriesat Bengbu and Chuzhou, cementing a strong network in the northern region ofAnhui. Currently, CR Snow is the largest brewer in the province with sevenbreweries. Xinghua Brewery is situated at Yueyang in the north-eastern region of Hunanprovince and alongside the famous Dongting Lake. At present, CR Snow does nothave any plant in Hunan province though a small quantity of SNOW was soldlocally. The current annual production capacity of the brewery is 1.2 millionhectolitres and it has the dominant market share in Yueyang. Mr. Andre Parker, Managing Director of SABMiller Africa & Asia, said, "Theacquisitions reflect our commitment to accelerate the national presence of"SNOW". Upon conclusion, they will add a total of about 5.0 million hectolitresto CR Snow's current production capacity of close to 90 million hectolitres. Theaverage attributable investment cost of around US$18 per hectolitre, is veryreasonable; reflecting our ability to expand profitably at low cost." Mr. Mark Chen, Managing Director of China Resources Enterprise, Limited said,"The acquisitions in Liaoning and Anhui will generate synergies with ourexisting breweries, refine the distribution network and strengthen our leadingposition in the provinces. In Hunan, the acquisition will provide a solidplatform for our national brand "SNOW" to expand and concurrently complement ourexisting operation in Wuhan given its close proximity." Ends About SABMiller plc SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests ordistribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. The group'sbrands include premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft, PeroniNastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range of marketleading local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of the largestbottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. In the year ended 31 March 2007, the group reported US$3,154 million adjustedpre-tax profit and revenue of US$18,620 million. SABMiller plc is listed on theLondon and Johannesburg stock exchanges. This announcement is available on the company website: www.sabmiller.com High resolution images are available for the media to view and download free ofcharge from www.sabmiller.com or www.newscast.co.uk About China Resources Snow Breweries Limited China Resources Snow Breweries Limited was established by the Company in 1993and became a joint venture with SABMiller plc in 1994. It is engaged in theproduction, sales and marketing of beer and beverages in China. Its shareholdersare China Resources Enterprise, Limited and SABMiller Asia Limited, a subsidiaryof SABMiller plc. China Resources Enterprise, Limited has a 51% interest inChina Resources Snow Breweries Limited while SABMiller Asia Limited holds theremaining 49% interest. It operates more than 50 breweries in the ChineseMainland with a total beer sales volume of about 5.3 million kiloliters in 2006. About China Resources Enterprise, Limited China Resources Enterprise, Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchangeand is also traded on the London Stock Exchange. It is one of the constituentstocks of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong. The Group focuses on the consumerbusinesses in both the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, with core activitiesbeing retail, beverage, food processing and distribution, textile and propertyinvestment. Enquiries:----------------- ----------------------- ------------------ SABMiller plc Tel: +44 20 7659 0100 Sue Clark Director of Corporate Affairs Tel: +44 20 7659 0184 Gary Leibowitz Senior Vice President, Investor Tel: +44 20 7659 0119 Relations Isabel Unsworth Business Media Relations Manager Tel: +44 20 7659 0131 This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or thesolicitation of an offer to buy or acquire securities of SABMiller plc (the"Company") or any of its affiliates in any jurisdiction or an inducement toenter into investment activity. This document includes "forward-looking statements". These statements maycontain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect" andwords of similar meaning. All statements other than statements of historicalfacts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, thoseregarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans andobjectives of management for future operations (including development plans andobjectives relating to the Company's products and services) are forward-lookingstatements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results,performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different fromfuture results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by suchforward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based onnumerous assumptions regarding the Company's present and future businessstrategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future.These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement.The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate anyupdates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in thisannouncement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regardthereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any suchstatement is based. Any information contained in this announcement on the priceat which the Company's securities have been bought or sold in the past, or onthe yield on such securities, should not be relied upon as a guide to futureperformance. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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