Asahi Group Holdings plans to borrow 1.19 trillion yen (US$11 billion) from Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation to complete its long-brewing purchase of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Australian business.
AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, agreed to sell its Australian business for A$16 billion (US$11 billion) to Asahi in July last year, after briefly shelving the Hong Kong initial public offering of its Asia-Pacific arm, Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, amid months of anti-government street protests in the city.
The bulk of the proceeds from the sale of the Australian unit, Carlton & United Breweries, is expected to be used to pay down debt. AB InBev’s debt topped US$95 billion at the end of 2019, following its acquisition of rival SABMiller two years earlier.
Budweiser ultimately proceeded with a slimmed down IPO for the Asia unit in September, raising US$5 billion. Several companies delayed or cancelled their IPOs last year, as the street protests intensified and deal valuations declined in the summer. The IPO of AB InBev was a shot in the arm for the Hong Kong stock exchange, after it lost its crown as the top market for IPOs in the first half of the year.