On just-drinks last week:

• The Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) saga rolled-on as a firm linked to ThaiBev put in an offer to Fraser & Neave to buy a 7.3% stake in the Tiger brewer. Heineken, however, dismissed the bid as "not comparable" to its own. Just-drinks considered the latest moves and highlighted an analyst's view of a possible APB break-up.


• It was a topsy turvy week for energy drinks firm Monster Beverage Corp. Despite announcing a healthy leap in first-half profits, the California-based group saw its share price fall 19% at one stage as its earnings missed estimates. But one analyst suggested this miss should not be of long-term concern as the firm is targeting more international markets. Meanwhile, its share price took another dent as Monster disclosed it was facing legal action over its flagship brand. We put this all into perspective in a round-up of coverage and analysis.


• Accolade Wines announced another significant shift, revealing it is splitting its European business into two separate divisions. Its current European general manager, James Lousada, has left the group as a result of the change to yet unknown pastures. The news follows last month's announcement that Accolade had struck a bottling deal with its Australian competitor Treasury Wine Estates.


• The world's spirits brands were pitted against each other in a top 50 list, with Diageo's Smirnoff coming top. The vodka brand sold 6.8m cases more than second-placed Bacardi rum last year, according to the IWSR chart. Pernod Ricard boasted the highest number of brands in the list, with ten in the top 50.

Until next time...

Olly Wehring
Managing Editor
Web: http://www.just-drinks.com
Email: editor@just-drinks.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/just_drinks