San Miguel (PSE:SMC) Strong Profit Boosted by Asset Sale to Kirin (TYO:2503)

Manila, Sep 2, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Philippines' food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (PSE:SMC) said its second-quarter net profit rose sixfold from a year earlier, largely due to the asset sale to Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings (TYO:2503).

Kirin Holding acquired a more than 43 per cent stake in San Miguel Brewery Inc. (PSE:SMB) in the deal, while San Miguel was looking to fund its diversification into power, infrastructure, telecommunications and water utility to fuel future growth.

San Miguel said net profit in the quarter ended in June jumped to 52.92 billion pesos from 8.69 billion pesos.

Besides the deal with San Miguel, Kirin will also purchase the 54% stake in Australian brewer Lion Nathan (ASX:LNN), which Kirin doesn't already own.

The global economic downturn has triggered the needs for consolidation in Japanese food and beverage industry as there is limited space for a growth in domestic market. These Japanese companies are aggressively hunting takeover opportunities overseas.

Kirin Holdings and its rival, Suntory Holdings Co., are recently negotiating a management integration, which could be a major threat to Asahi Breweries Ltd (TYO:2502) and Sapporo Holdings (TYO:2501). If the integration proceeds, the merger will create a liquor and soft drink manufacturer with combined sales of 3.82 trillion yen. Asahi and Sapporo will be under stronger pressure to acquire foreign beer makers to boost their growth.

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Michelle Liang Asia Business News Asia Bureau Tel: +61-2-9247-4344 Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net