Kirin Holdings looks to be digging a hole for itself in Brazil, following claims late last week that the brewer would be prepared to pay at least another BRL2bn (US$1.06bn) to buy out Schincariol, the country's second largest brewer.
Considering Kirin's deal to buy 50.45% of Schincariol already values the brewer at a whopping 20 times EBIDTA, it's easy to imagine several investors breaking out in sweats at the idea of Kirin throwing yet more money at the matter. In reality, however, it may have little choice. The alternatives are a potentially costly legal battle with the remaining family shareholders, or to walk away completely, which would, of course, make the whole venture look rather futile and badly thought out.
We wait with interest to see how Kirin navigates its way out of this one.
Also on the just-drinks pages last week, we took advantage of a rather quiet news agenda to look in more detail at a Brewers of Europe report on the state of the region's beer sector. We compiled a data graphic that shows that only four countries out of the 31 covered by the report - Norway, Switzerland, Croatia and Estonia - saw per capita beer consumption increase between 2008 and 2010.
Elsewhere, we covered Diageo's launch of a new campaign for Johnnie Walker, while deputy editor Chris Mercer spent a night in Prague, where he put down some thoughts on the Czech beer market and spoke with StarBev's CEO, Alain Beyens. A full interview with Beyens follows later this week
In soft drinks, Michelle Russell examined the recent changes at PepsiCo in North America and what these could mean for the company's strategy.
We also managed to slide in just under the wire last week, with the publication of September's management briefing, which looks at what the future has in store for our industry. The briefings are free to just-drinks members so, if you're not yet with us, head here to rectify that anomaly.
Until next time...
Olly Wehring
Managing Editor
Web: http://www.just-drinks.com
Email: editor@just-drinks.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/just_drinks
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