Japanese group completes takeover of Ursus beer producer

Japanese group Asahi completed the takeover of SABMiller’s assets in Central and Eastern Europe region, which includes operations in Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The European Commission approved the takeover of SABMiller by AB InBev only with the commitment of AB InBev to sell SAB Miller’s operations in Central and Eastern Europe. At the beginning of March, the European Commission announced that it had approved the sale of these operations to Asahi. The new company will be called Asahi Breweries Europe Ltd. The Japanese group will thus own Ursus Breweries, the largest beer producer in Romania. The company produces local beer brands such as Ursus, Timişoreana, Ciucaş, Steja, and Azuga, and sells international beer brands such as Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Redd’s, Pilsner Urquell, and St Stefanus. Ursus had sales of EUR 356 million and a net profit of almost EUR 10 million in 2015. The company had over 1,400 employees. Last year, Asahi also completed the acquisition of SAB Miller’s operations in Italy, Netherlands and the UK, adding to its portfolio the popular beer brands Peroni, and Groslch. editor@romania-insider.com