Heineken N.V, which competes for the top spot on the Romanian beer market with the local branch of SAB Miller, has signed the contract to buy Bere Mures, the second-largest independent player on the domestic beer market, for which it paid more than 150 million euros.
Heineken thus secures its leading position on the market, with a 31% share, whereas the differences in market shares of the top three players (Heineken, Ursus and InBev) were less than 2% at the end of last year.
Under the circumstances, the stakes involved in the acquisition of Bere Mures, which accounted for about 6% of the market were extremely high for the beer multinationals. The factory in Mures county, held by six local entrepreneurs initially had InBev as suitor, three years ago, and the top two players Heineken and Ursus competed directly over the acquisition of this brewery last November.
"The value of the deal was within the bounds of what we asked, that is between 150 - 200 million euros. All three assets of the company were acquired, namely the brewery, the water factory and the hotels," stated Virgil Mailat, who owns 25% of the company. Heineken officials did not reveal details about the value of the deal.
With Heineken paying 150 million euros, Virgil Mailat, Gheorghe Grec and Emil Morariu will collect 37.5 million euros each, while Rus Alexandru, Bacila Nicolae and Rujiu Anghel Rus, the other three shareholders will get approximately 12.5 million euros each.
Bere Mures officials announced last December that they wanted to sell all three assets to an investor willing to buy them for at least 150 million euros. Virgil Mailat, who owns 25% in the company stated at the time that the companies with which talks were being held included SAB Miller, the owner of Ursus Breweries and an investment fund. Ursus officials did not provide comment on the issue, but did not deny the information, either.
"We had a non-disclosure agreement in place with the people at Heineken and that is why we did not reveal we were in talks with them, too. We started talks with all three investors in November last year," Mailat added. Bere Mures makes only PET-bottled beer and its portfolio includes Neumarkt, Dracula and Sovata brands. The company entered the mineral water market last year when it launched Cezara, as well as the Cheile Cibului still water.
The company's shareholders also own the Germisara tourism complex in Geoagiu-Bai resort, in Hunedoara County.
Bere Mures sold 100 million PETs, that is 1.35 million hectolitres of beer in 2006, with Neumarkt accounting for about 1.24 million hectolitres of this quantity, and Dracula and Sovata accounting for the rest.
Bere Mures was the first company that introduced PET-bottled beer on the market in 1998, a concept that would revolutionise the beer market in just a few years. Sales of PET-bottled beer accounted for approximately 45% of total beer market at the end of last year, according to the Brewers of Romania association, compared with only 3% in 2001.
The increase in beer consumption from 66 litres per capita in 2004 to almost 90 litres last year has also attracted new investors on this market. Romaqua group, owner of the Borsec mineral water brand, will invest more than 30 million euros to build a brewery with a production capacity of 1 million hectolitres near Alba-Iulia.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
