Asahi Suffers $2 Billion Hangover on Overseas Beer Expansion
- AB InBev deal sets expansion in slow-growing Australia market
- Asahi to double debt, sell stock to pay for $11 billion deal
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Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. is already getting a headache from its $11 billion Australian foray.
Japan’s biggest brewer, seeking to escape a slow-growing, aging market at home, is buying the Australian assets of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, which owns iconic but low-priced beers such as Victoria Bitter. To do so, Asahi will double its debt load and issue about 10% more in new shares. That’s becoming a hangover for investors, who lopped $2 billion from the brewer’s market value on Monday.