Asahi to buy SABMiller est-europe brands for $7.8 billion

The japanese beer group Asahi said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire beer brands SABMiller Plc’s eastern European assets including Pilsner Urquell from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV for 7.3 billion euros ($7.8 billion),

The deal gives bigger international heft to Asahi, which is one of the top beer makers in its home market of Japan, but only a small player globally. Asahi said it planned to acquire brands in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

AB InBev said it had made commitments to the European Commission to sell the CEE Business under the business combination with SABMiller.

In a statement announcing its latest purchase, Asahi said it was trying to establish itself as a global player, mainly focusing on a "leading premium brand portfolio".

The sale is conditional upon EC regulatory approval. The disposal process has been carried out under the supervision of Mazars LLP in their role as EC monitoring trustee.