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Interbrew to buy Beck's
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August 6, 2001: 3:55 a.m. ET
World's second-largest brewer agrees to buy Germany's Becks for $1.6 billion
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LONDON (CNN) - Interbrew, the world's No. 2 beer maker, agreed on Monday to buy German brewer Beck's for $1.6 billion as it expands in the region.
It's the Belgian brewer's second German acquisition in two weeks. It announced on July 27 that it bought 80 percent of speciality beer maker Diebels for an undisclosed sum in its first foray into the German market.
With the purchase of Diebels, a maker of traditional German beer, and premium lager maker Beck's, Germany's fourth-biggest beer maker, Interbrew has boosted its market share in Europe's largest economy and strongest beer market.
"Beck's provides an excellent fit with our strategy of acquiring and developing strong brands in local markets," said Interbrew Chief Executive Hugo Powell.
In recent years Powell has almost doubled the size of the company, which makes beers such as Stella Artois, Labatt and Rolling Rock. Half a dozen takeovers in Asia and Europe, including UK brewers Whitbread and Bass last year, have been aimed at helping the company compete for market share against main European rival Heineken.
Interbrew ranks only behind St. Louis, Mo.-based Anheuser-Busch (BUD: Research, Estimates), maker of Budweiser, in the world brewing league table by volume produced.
The Belgian company's $3.3 billion Bass takeover, however, has been hindered by UK regulators, who are considering a plan for Interbrew to offload some brands in order to win approval for the takeover.
The UK government had said merging Bass with Interbrew's own beer assets would have led to higher beer prices. The acquisition would have raised Interbrew's share of the UK market to 32 percent.
The deal would also have created an effective duopoly with the U.K.'s biggest domestic brewer, Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN). Interbrew is now expected to give up part of Bass, including the Carling brand, analysts said.
Interbrew shares fell 0.3 percent in Brussels on Monday to  29.70 after the purchase of Beck's was announced.
Shares in Leuven, Belgium-based Interbrew were floated on the Euronext exchange on December 1 at 33.
Interbrew, which traces its history to 1366, raised $2.5 billion in Belgium's largest ever initial public offering, as the family-owned company sold 21 percent of its capital to raise funds to pursue acquisitions.
Interbrew said the purchase of privately held Beck's is subject to approval by its shareholders and antitrust authorities. 
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