ThaiBev wins bid to acquire 54% stake in Vietnamese brewer Sabeco for $4.8bn

Drinks acquisition news : Vietnam Beverage, a subsidiary of Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), arguably the largest beverage company in Thailand has won a bid to acquire a stake of 54% in Vietnamese state-owned brewer Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Joint Stock Corp (Sabeco) for a sum of SGD 6.5 billion ($4.8 billion).

Vietnam Beverage is the domestic subsidiary of ThaiBev in Vietnam. ThaiBev owns a stake of 49% in Vietnam Beverage and is partnered in the beverage company by Vietnam F&B Alliance Investment Joint Stock.

Sabeco, on the other hand, operates under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Vietnam and is the owner of beer brands such as Saigon Beer and 333 Beer.

Sabeco’s Saigon Beer. Photo courtesy of Kaihsu Tai/Wikipedia.org.

ThaiBev beat competition from brewing majors like AB InBev, Heineken, San Miguel and Kirin in the bidding for the majority stake in Sabeco.

Through the controlling stake in Sabeco, ThaiBev is looking to become a dominant player in the East Asian beer market. In particular, ThaiBev wants to cash in on the $6.48 billion worth Vietnamese beer market.

Recently, the Thai brewing company acquired Myanmar Distillery Company, the owner of Grand Royal Whisky in a $1 billion worth deal.

Owned by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, ThaiBev owns beer brands such as Chang, Archa and Federbrau.

As per Business Times, Thai Beverage has been quoted to have stated on its acquisition of stake in Sabeco, as: “The acquisition will enable the group to expand in an important regional market for the group’s products, increase the group’s product offering, and provide the group with immediate access to an extensive local distribution network. Sabeco has strong financial performance with margin expansion potential.”