Japan’s Asahi Agrees to Buy Grolsch and Peroni

10 Feb 2016 --- Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings is to buy SABMiller’s key brands Grolsch and Peroni, according to a report.

The report in the Nikkei business daily title said that Asahi Group Holdings was likely to pay over 400 billion yen ($3.4bn) for the two brands.

Asahi is looking to grow its footprint outside of Japan to compensate for falling sales in its domestic market.

Whispers of a move by Asahi first circulated in January this year with the Japanese company touted as a buyer along with a number of private equity firms including KKR.

Asahi, famous for its Super Dry beer brand, has nearly 40 per cent of the Japanese beer market.

The move comes as SABMiller is looking to sell off its European brands ahead of AB InBev’s £71bn ($103bn) proposed takeover of the brewing giant.

The deal between SABMiller and AB InBev has yet to secure full regulatory approval and by selling off Grolsch and Peroni, the deal could avoid competition concerns.