Heineken fails in Kingway takeover
The Dutch brewer’s long-running takeover talks with Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd. have been called off with no agreement reached.
24/08/05 Heineken’s latest effort at expansion in China has failed. The Dutch brewer’s long-running takeover talks with Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd. have been called off with no agreement reached.
Kingway chairman Ye Xughan said in a statement, “ both parties believe that it is not in the interests of the company to let the uncertainty remain over whether or not there will be a bid. That is why it has been decided to end talks”. Heineken will continue to work with Kingway, but "at an operational level," Ye said.
Heineken bought a share of 21.44% in the Guangdong based brewer in 2004 for 57 million euros through its joint venture with Singapore-listed Asia Pacific Breweries (A46.SG), called Heineken Asia-Pacific Breweries China.
Kingway was attractive to Heineken because it has a large market share in the affluent and fast-growing city of Shenzhen, on the southern border of Guangdong next to Hong Kong.
