Asahi eyes more deals to grow overseas business to 33% of sales

Tokyo

ASAHI Group Holdings Ltd wants to grow its overseas business to about a third of sales with more acquisitions after agreeing to buy about US$11 billion of SABMiller plc's brands as Japan's largest brewer seeks to offset a falling beer market at home.

"The domestic market is turning out stable cash flow but we want overseas markets to be our growth engine," Asahi president Akiyoshi Koji, 65, said on Tuesday at the brewer's Tokyo headquarters.