Reinheitsgebot

17 July 2003 By Rob Cox Follow @rob1cox

Two biggish brewers have come up for grabs just as the big brewers have promised restraint towards spending shareholders money. Given the difficulties of Germany s beer market and expectations of the sellers they will be hard pressed to keep their pledges.

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Holsten Brauerei, Germany's biggest brewer, said it is seeking a partner to help it double its share of the beer market to 20%.

The announcement is likely to lead to offers to acquire the company from a handful of global brewers, including Interbrew, Heineken, Scottish & Newcastle, SABMiller and Carlsberg.

Lehman Brothers is said to be advising the company's biggest shareholder, a USbased German former investment banker who owns 48% of the stock.

Brau & Brunnen, another German brewer, is also on the block, as its majority shareholder, German bank HVB, seeks a buyer for its 55% stake. B&B earned about E44m of ebitda last year and has a 5% share of the German market.

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