The Colombian brewer, Bavaria, has said it is planning to buy up to 2.73m class “A” common shares in the Peruvian brewer, Backus, at US$27 each.
The company currently controls 59.53% of the company. The bid for the shares had originally been expected to take place in March but was postponed while the exact method of undertaking the purchase was determined. At this stage, it is not clear what percentage of the total capital in Backus the 2.73m shares represents.
A bid from Bavaria should represent the final chapter in the battle for Backus which was waged between Bavaria and two Venezuelan companies, the diversified media group, Cisneros, and the brewer Polar, last year.
Bavaria eventually prevailed when it acquired Polar’s 24.6% participation in December 2002. Cisneros is still thought to control 22.3% of Backus, while the Peruvian company, Bentin, has 15%. The remaining shares are owned by small investors.
