In a move to offset flat growth in its home market and expand beyond Asia into Europe, Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings announced it has bid €2.55B (US$2.9 billion) to acquire the Peroni, Grolsch, and Meantime brands currently held by SABMiller.

 

The sale of the brands by Anheuser-Busch InBev is being pursued in order to gain approval from European anti-trust regulators for its acquisition of SABMiller, agreed upon last year.

 

Asahi is the largest brewing company in Japan with a 38% market share, but because of a shrinking population and consumer tastes shifting toward wine, the company has been experiencing slowing sales over the past 20 years, reports The Star. In response the company has been looking to increase its overseas sales, which currently account for only 10% of its total sales, according to Yahoo.  And although the company has expanded throughout the Asia-Pacific market through previous acquisitions, this deal will give the company a strong foothold in Europe.

 

“Through this proposed acquisition, Asahi aims to expand its growth platform in Europe and become a global player with a distinct position, leveraging the distribution network of the Target Business to maximize synergies through increasing the presence of its flagship “Asahi Super Dry” brand,” Asahi announced in a company statement.

 

Asahi acted quickly, outbidding rival private equity firms including KKR & Co., Fraser and Neave Ltd, PAI Partners SAS, and EQT Corp for the brands, reinforcing the more aggressive stance Japanese companies are taking in regard to outward expansion, reports the Financial Times.

 

The bid, which is being entirely financed through bank loans, is subject to AB Inbev receiving approval from the European Commission for its acquisition of SABMiller, however, if it is successful, the transaction will be the largest deal in the Japanese beverage sector after the 2014 acquisition of U.S. liquor company, Beam by Suntory for $16 billion.

 

If completed, the acquired brands would add a combined US$783 million in revenue for Asahi, and would increase the company’s overseas sales ratio to 18%, according to the Financial times.