Daily Business Brief

Born on Date: Monday, July 25, 2005
On Friday, A-B stock closed at 45.72, up .22

In the News:

SABMiller Plans Buyout of Prazdroj Minority Shares

(Monday, July 25, Reuters News)

SABMiller Plc said on Monday it plans to force a buyout of minority shareholders in its Czech unit Plzensky Prazdroj, maker of premium Pilsner Urquell lager beer. In a statement, the Anglo-South African group said it had called an extraordinary general meeting for August 26 which it expected to approve a plan to acquire the remaining 3.1 percent of shares it did not already own in Plzensky Prazdroj. Nearly all of those shares are owned by individuals, according to the Czech company's Web site. "The value of the gross assets to be acquired is $18 million or 446.7 million crowns," the SABMiller statement said. A new Czech law allows majority owners with more than 90 percent of shares in a company to squeeze out the remaining shareholders. SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer by volume, will become the sole owner of Plzensky Prazdroj after the buyout, which it wants to complete in October. Plzensky Prazdroj, which produces more than 9.5 million hectolitres of beer a year, is the biggest brewer in the Czech Republic and in central Europe.

InBev Aims to Buy Out Czech Staropramen Shares

(Monday, July 25, Reuters News)

Belgian brewer InBev offered on Monday to pay 41 crowns per share to force a buyout of minority shareholders of Czech unit Pivovary Staropramen, in which it already holds a 99.57 percent stake. InBev, the world's largest brewer by volume, said it had called an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders for Aug. 26 to approve the plan, which will make it the sole owner of the Czech maker of Staropramen lager and other brands. A new Czech law allows majority owners with more than 90 percent of shares in a company to squeeze out remaining shareholders.

Japan Kirin Brew Buys Stake In US Biotech Co Hematech

(Monday, July 25, Dow Jones International News)

Kirin Brewery Co. said Monday that it has agreed to buy close to entire stake in U.S. biotechnology company Hematech LLC for about Y5 billion. Kirin, which is primarily a beer and liquor maker but has diversified into pharmaceuticals, said the deal has allowed the company to acquire Hematech's core technology and research infrastructure for production of bovine-derived human polyclonal antibodies. The $45 million deal enabled Kirin to acquire a 98.3% stake in Hematech. In 2004, Hematech posted sales of $14 million. In 1999, Kirin and Hematech entered into a research collaboration accord on the development of human antibody-producing cows. Last year, Kirin has said it was breeding a genetically engineered cow that may produce human antibodies, a move it hopes will lead to the development and testing of a range of pharmaceuticals.

Vietnam To Invest In Beverage Industry By 2010

(Sunday, July 24, Dow Jones International News)

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry plans to invest up to VND14.3 trillion ($900 million) in the country's beverage industry between this year and 2010, an official said Monday. Vietnam will need to boost the industry in the next five years to meet demand that is growing at about 10% a year, the ministry official told Dow Jones Newswires. "We foresee a great demand for drinking products - ranging from beers to fruit juices, carbonated or non-carbonated beverages, and we are preparing investment plans for the next five years," the official said. About half of the funds will come from the state budget and the rest from the industry itself.

UK Firm Is Sole Bidder For Bosnia Biggest Brewer

(Friday, July 22, Reuters News)

The Bosnian Serb privatisation agency said on Friday that London-based Altima Partners was the only bidder for a majority stake in the country's biggest brewer, Banjalucka Pivara. Agency official Vanja Manojlovic told Reuters by telephone that a bid by Bosnia's top-selling Sarajevska Pivara brewery was found invalid, but the offer from Altima Partners, a firm with some $1.5 billion in assets, met all formal criteria. Altima's bid will undergo further reviews which may take another two weeks. In its third attempt to sell Banjalucka, the privatisation agency advertised the sale of a 53.81 percent stake on April 8. The tender closed on June 15 with Sarajevska and Altima Partners as the only bidders. The agency did not give a price for the stake but the regional government had earlier put its value at 43 million Bosnian marka ($26.9 million). Banjalucka is the Serb Republic's only brewer, and is based in the de facto capital Banja Luka. Its sales almost halved last year to about 324,000 hectolitres as cut-price beer from Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro flooded the Bosnian market.

Mexico's Femsa Net Seen Lower on One-Off Tax Blip

(Friday, July 22, Reuters News)

Mexico's Femsa, Latin America's largest beverage company, is seen posting a 19-percent drop in second-quarter net profit as a one-time tax gain in 2004 at its soft drinks arm will not be repeated. A Reuters survey of analysts forecast, on average, that Femsa's net profit for the April-June period will drop to 1.365 billion pesos ($127 million) from 1.686 billion pesos a year earlier. The April-June net last year was skewed by a 1.175 billion pesos tax windfall at its Coca-Cola Femsa subsidiary. "Despite the impact of a favorable foreign exchange swing on the company's U.S. dollar debt, we forecast a slight net earnings decline due to the recognition of an extraordinary tax gain at KOF last year," Merrill Lynch said in a note. Revenue at Femsa are seen slightly higher, boosted by another healthy quarter from its Comercio division, which runs a chain of stores called Oxxo that sell the company's beers and soft drinks. Oxxo, the largest convenience store chain in Latin America and which also sells snacks and food, has been the star unit for several quarters.

Released by Communications:

2005 Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill Announces Charitable Contributions

The 2005 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, continuing Anheuser-Busch’s tradition of charitable support in Virginia, today announced a $290,250 donation to Virginia charities. “The combination of the exciting competition between the world’s top female golfers and the tremendous support of Virginia’s golf fans helped contribute to the success of this year’s tournament,” said Wayne Nooe, tournament director, Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill. “We’re proud to make this donation to 30 of Virginia’s local charitable organizations, and we look forward to another successful Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill next year.”

Budweiser Retro Program Celebrates Rise to World’s Best-Selling Beer with 1950s Can

The U.S.S.R. enters the Winter Olympics for the first time. “My Fair Lady” opens on Broadway, and Elvis Presley breaks into the music charts for the first time with “Heartbreak Hotel.” John Glenn sets the transcontinental speed record, Ford introduces the Edsel, IBM invents the first hard drive (5 MB) and the Dodgers play their last game in Brooklyn. And Budweiser becomes the world’s best-selling beer. The red, white and blue can that became one of the most recognized labels around the world returns to retail outlets for four weeks in the summer of 2005 as Budweiser launches the fourth installment of its retro packaging program with the “White Split Label” (1956-1958) can on July 25. USA Network will complement the Budweiser Retro program by integrating the 1950s packaging in the Emmy-nominated, science-fiction show “The 4400” scheduled to air at 9 p.m. EDT on July 31.

Market Summary:

Dow Jones +23.41 to 10,651.18

Nasdaq +1.14 to 2,179.74

S&P 500 +6.64 to 1,233.68

BUD +.22 to 45.72 (high 45.89, low 45.46 on 1,986,300 shares)

Redhook +.09 to 3.29

Adolph Coors Co. +.34 to 63.58

Walt Disney Co. +.27 to 25.83

Six Flags -.02 to 5.20

PepsiCo +.15 to 54.83

Coca-Cola +.08 to 44.03

Prepared by Communications. Please send any questions/comments to businessbriefs@anheuser-busch.com