SABMiller and Coca-Cola Amatil Acquire Bluetongue Brewery in Australia 

06/12/07 SABMiller plc has announced that its joint venture with Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA), Pacific Beverages Pty Limited (Pacific Beverages) has acquired Bluetongue Brewery Pty Limited (Bluetongue), the Australian premium brewer.

Bluetongue was established in 2003 and operates from a brewery near Newcastle, New South Wales with an annual capacity in excess of 50,000 hectolitres.  Its premium beer brands include Bluetongue Premium Lager, Bluetongue Premium Light, Bluetongue Traditional Pilsner, Bluetongue Alcoholic Ginger Beer and Bondi Blonde.

In its four years of operation Bluetongue has had significant success in the premium beer category and in 2004 Bluetongue Premium Lager was awarded New Product of the Year at the Australian Liquor Awards.  The operations and product range have been progressively expanded and in the year to November 2007 the company has delivered sales growth of over 70 per cent.

The acquisition will give Pacific Beverages greater access to the Australian premium beer market which has grown at a rate of around 15 per cent each year for the last six years. Ari Mervis, Managing Director SABMiller Asia, said, “The Australian premium beer market is growing strongly year-on-year.  Pacific Beverages is well placed to capitalise on this trend and our expertise in premium brand management together with CCA’s distribution strength means that we can accelerate the development of the Bluetongue brands and grow our share of the premium beer market in Australia.” Terry Davis, the Group Managing Director of CCA, said, “The acquisition of Bluetongue Brewery adds a fast-growing and uniquely Australian premium beer brand to Pacific Beverages’ existing portfolio of imported premium beers and fits perfectly with our strategy of developing our presence in the Australian premium beer market.”

Sales of Pacific Beverages’ existing premium imported beer brands have grown strongly since their introduction in 2006.  For the full year, it is expected that volumes will grow by more than 100 per cent over the prior year when the brands were managed under other distribution arrangements.  This growth has been achieved through targeted brand advertising, outlet execution, and the benefits of expanding availability through CCA’s large customer network.  In November 2007 SABMiller’s Miller Chill, a chelada-style light beer was launched in the Australian market and early consumer uptake has been encouraging.

The value of the gross assets acquired is approximately A$14 million (US$12.3 million).  The purchase price is not being disclosed.