BRAZIL: AmBev looking for acquisition/deal every six months

The director of Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (AmBev), Brazil's biggest brewer, has said that the company will look for deals or acquisitions to fuel growth every sixth months.In an interview with Reuters, Magim Rodriguez who is responsible for international strategy, said that the company is looking at foreign acquisitions as a way to guarantee a faster growth rate than it can achieve on the local market.The statement comes on the same day that AmBev signs an agreement with French drinks company Danone to purchase a controlling stake in Uruguayan beer and mineral water producer Compania Salus.Rodriguez went onto to say that he had already met with "everybody in Latin America. I want to believe that in six months we will have made another deal".He would not comment on where that deal might come from but when questioned about Argentina's Quilmes Industrial said: "I would love to jump out in front with Quilmes. If they want to sell, we are clearly interested, depending on the price."Interestingly Rodriguez hinted that AmBev was not just interested in beer. It has been assumed that once Salus has been bought, Danone would take hold of the mineral water arm and AmBev the brewing division.But Rodriguez said: "Danone has a lot of expertise in water and we are looking at this market in Brazil. We already have a brand name, Fratelli Vita. Our business is small in this area but the market has great potential and we are studying it."