经济学人下载:酿造商的并购

Brewing mergers
酿造商的并购

SABMiller’s tale
SABMiller神话

Heroic Aussie beer-drinkers make Foster’s a tempting takeover target
福斯特成为收购目标 澳大利亚啤酒消费者功不可没

Sep 24th 2011 | from the print edition

“FOSTER’S, Australian for beer” went one slogan. Oddly, few Aussies sip the amber nectar. In Britain, where it is ubiquitous, it is brewed by Heineken, a Dutch beermaker. Yet Foster’s, Australia’s largest brewer, looks appetising to SABMiller, the world’s second-largest. On September 21st the London-based firm seemed to end a long takeover battle by raising its cash bid for Foster’s to A$9.9 billion ($10.1 billion). The Foster’s board has recommended accepting the offer.

有则广告叫“福斯特，澳洲人的啤酒”。但很奇怪，很少有澳洲人会品尝这种琥珀色的佳酿。在英国情况却是大不一样，几乎人人畅饮荷兰人酿造的“喜力”啤酒。然而现在，澳洲最大的啤酒酿造商福斯特集团正逐渐引起世界第二大啤酒酿造商，英国南非米勒集团（SABMiller,以下简称南非米勒）的兴趣。9月21日这家总部位于伦敦的公司最终决定提高收购价，以99亿澳元（101亿美元）的价格收购福斯特集团。福斯特集团董事会建议接受该收购价。

SABMiller, which has 10% of the global market, will acquire a business that generates barrels of cash. Australians chug an impressive 84 litres of beer a year. (The global average is a shameful 27 litres.) And though Aussies shun the insipid stuff with “Foster’s” on the can, they love the company’s Victoria Bitter, which is the nation’s bestseller. Foster’s brews seven of the ten most popular beers in Oz and has half the domestic market by volume, though its share has slipped over the years.

南非米勒目前占有全球10%的市场份额。而且将要被其收购的福斯特集团将会为其带来大量收入。澳洲人每年的啤酒消费量令人乍舌的达到84公升（全球平均量只有27公升）。尽管人们对啤酒罐上的“福斯特”标识不甚关注，但对该公司的Victoria Bitter牌啤酒却钟爱有加，该啤酒正是全澳洲最畅销的啤酒。全澳洲十大最受欢迎的啤酒中就有七种是福斯特酿造的。尽管在国内市场上福斯特集团的份额在不断下跌，但仍达到50%。