8th Feb 2006 11:00
SABMiller PLC08 February 2006 SABMILLER ASSOCIATE ACQUIRES FIRST CHINESE BREWERY IN FUJIAN PROVINCE London and Johannesburg, 8 February 2006. China Resources Snow BreweriesLimited ("CR Snow"), an associate of SABMiller plc and a subsidiary of ChinaResources Enterprise Limited ("CRE"), announces that it has acquired an 85%interest in Quanzhou Qingyuan Brewery Limited ("Qingyuan Brewery") forapproximately US$8.9 million. The residual 15% is owned by Q.F.G.C. (Limited). Quanzhou, a major coastal city in the south east province of Fujian, has apopulation of over 7 million people. In 2004 Fujian Province recorded totalbeer sales of 13.5 million hectolitres and annual consumption per capita of 39litres, exceeding the national average of 23 litres. At present, CR Snow doesnot have any plant in the province. The consideration for the acquisition will be based on the appraised net assetvalue of Qingyuan Brewery to be determined after due diligence, which isexpected to be approximately US$10.5 million. Qingyuan Brewery had net debt ofRMB42 million as at 30 September 2005. The annual production capacity of thebrewery is 1.2 million hectolitres and could be increased to 2.8 millionhectolitres after an upgrade for an additional investment of RMB65 million. Themajor product line for Qingyuan Brewery is its "Qingyuan" series of beer,distributed for sale mainly in the Quanzhou area. Mr. Andre Parker, Managing Director of SABMiller Africa & Asia, said, "FujianProvince is an attractive region to further build our presence in China andexpand our fast growing SNOW brand. This transaction represents a veryattractive value of under US$10 per hectolitre and is evidence of CR Snow'scontinued price discipline in pursuing acquisitions in the region." Mr. Mark Chen, Managing Director of China Resources Enterprise, Limited said, "The acquisition is part of our national strategy for "SNOW" to expand intosouthern China prudently. We are already selling SNOW in Fujian Province andour cost efficiency will be enhanced in future. We will take advantage of theedges of Quanzhou to consolidate our market position in Fujian Province andwould upgrade the existing facilities in two to three years' time. Coupled withour greenfield plant at Dongguan, which has commenced trial runs recently, wehave built a sound platform for further expansion to neighbouring areas ofsouthern China." Ends Notes to editors SABMiller SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests ordistribution agreements in over 60 countries across five 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 2005, the group reported US$2,194 million pre-taxprofit and a turnover of US$14,543 million on a UK GAAP basis. SABMiller plc islisted on the London 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.vismedia.co.uk China Resources Snow Breweries Limited China Resources Snow Breweries Limited was established in 1994 and is engaged inthe production, sales and marketing of beer and beverages in China. Itsshareholders are China Resources Enterprise, Limited and SABMiller plc. ChinaResources Enterprise, Limited has a 51% interest in China Resources SnowBreweries Limited while SABMiller plc holds a 49% interest. It operates about40 breweries in the Chinese Mainland with a total sales volume of about 3.1million kilolitres in 2004. About China Resources Enterprise, Limited China Resources Enterprise, Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchangeand is also traded on SEAQ International of the London Stock Exchange. It isalso one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and HangSeng London Reference Index. The Group focuses on the consumer businesses inboth Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, with core activities being retail,beverage, food processing and distribution, textile and property investment. Enquiries: SABMiller plc Tel: +44 20 7659 0100 Sue Clark Director of Corporate Affairs Tel: +44 20 7659 0184 Gary Leibowitz Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7659 0174 James Crampton Media Relations Manager Tel: +44 20 7659 0172 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 disseminateany updates 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 price at which theCompany's securities have been bought or sold in the past, or on the yield onsuch securities, should not be relied upon as a guide to future performance. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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