HOT TRUB
January 3,
2001
Edited by: Peter LaFrance (peter.lafrence@beerbasics.com)
Presented by: American Brewer
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Vol. 2 No. 1
This newsletter will post items of special interest to brewers, members of the
brewing and distilling community, and members of the media that covers the
beverage alcohol business.
Should you wish to contribute in any way to this venture please contact Peter
LaFrance at peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com
If you wish to be dropped from this list please respond to this posting to peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com and
include the word remove in the Subject: line.
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This morning the British government derailed Interbrew’s recent $3.46 billion purchase of the brewing assets of Bass Plc. Interbrew must now sell off the Bass brewing unit to a buyer “approved” by the UK government.
Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers, said the deal would have led to higher beer prices because the Bass/Scottish & Newcastle arm of Interbrew would dominate the UK beverage market. In this mornings report from Reuters, Byers quoted the Competition Commission as saying the deal would have given Interbrew four of the 10 top (two of the top three) UK beer brands, including Carling and Stella Artois.
What’s next?
Reuters also reports that, “U.S. private equity firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst and Danish rival Carlsberg, both losing bidders for the Bass brewing business in June, are seen as the likeliest contenders to take the business off Interbrew's hands.”
Yesterday, PRNews reported that the Coors Brewing Company and Molson Inc. have finalized a new joint venture allowing Coors to import, market, sell and distribute Molson's brands of beer in the U.S. Coors paid Molson $65 million for a 49.9 percent interest in the U.S. joint venture.
Coors and Molson also reached agreement on a contract brewing arrangement and an extension to their existing Coors Canada partnership. Coors will have exclusive rights to Molson brands currently sold in the U.S. including Molson Canadian, Molson Golden and Molson Ice, as well as future Molson brands that may be developed for export to the U.S. All of these products will be brewed and packaged by Molson in Canada and imported to the U.S. by the joint venture.
Pierre Celis is looking for a brewer to run the Celis brewery and business.
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