Asahi agrees to sell Tsingtao stake for US$847m

[TOKYO] Asahi Group Holdings agreed to sell most of its stake in Tsingtao Brewery to a Fosun International unit for US$847 million.

Asahi is selling its nearly 20 per cent holding for HK$27.22 a share, according to a company statement. That's a 32 per cent discount to Wednesday's closing price of HK$40 a share.

The deal will give Fosun a presence in a market where increasingly wealthy Chinese drinkers are looking to switch to premium labels. The company faces challenges in the region. While Tsingtao is in the higher-quality category of local beers, it has struggled to position itself as foreign brewers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and Diageo have been gaining ground.

BLOOMBERG