BRUSSELS (AP) — The Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings is seeking to buy the classic European beer brands Grolsch and Peroni and Britain's Meantime for 2.55 billion euros ($2.85 billion) from AB InBev, the world's biggest brewer.
The acquisition would give the Japanese company a major inroad into the European market. It is made possible by AB Inbev's need to address regulators' concerns about market dominance after it acquired its biggest rival, SABMiller.
AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito said he was "pleased to have received this binding offer from Asahi on the Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands and businesses."
Last October, SABMiller accepted a takeover bid of 69 billion pounds ($100 billion) from AB InBev that would give the combined company control over nearly a third of the global market.