UK: Lively Modelo sees rating knocked back

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 7 December 2006

Grupo Modelo has had its rating cut following a busy few weeks for the Mexican brewer.

UBS yesterday (6 December) reduced its coverage of Modelo to 'reduce' from 'neutral', following a string of announcements that the brokerage believes could have a limited impact on the brewer's value.

This week, Modelo named Anheuser-Busch as its brand importer in China. Last week, Modelo announced that it is investing US$520m in a new brewery in the north of Mexico. The company also unveiled a joint water distribution venture with Nestlé.

In a report, UBS said: "We have incorporated the likely impact of these initiatives into our projections. While we believe that they should be mildly positive in the aggregate, their impact on value is not as high as the recent rally implies."

Sectors: Beer & cider, Water

Companies: Modelo, Anheuser-Busch