Australia Seals SABMiller’s Takeover of Foster’s Group
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan cleared on Friday SABMiller's $9.9 billion takeover of Australian beer icon Foster's, leaving only one brand as the country's wholly-owned brewery.
Swan, however, made clear that his approval of the giant merger comes with specific conditions that he said would ensure Australia's national interest while at the same time protecting the local brewery market that lately has seen the emerging dominance of foreign players.
According to the Herald Sun, SABMiller is an established brewer from the United Kingdom that is now in-charge of Foster's, which has been in existence for more than a century.
The mega deal adds up to another foreign takeover of a local brewery as Kirin of Japan successfully purchased Lion Nathan earlier, leaving out a mere four percent of the domestic beer industry controlled by Coopers, currently the only Australian player in the market.
Noting the financial and cultural importance of Foster's, Swan assured that despite its sale to SABMiller, the beer company will remain 'local' in terms of its production and management approach.
"The government welcomes foreign investment in Australia and continues to ensure that investments are consistent with Australia's national interest," Swan was reported by the publication as saying in giving his thumbs up to the deal.
Those conditions, according to Swan, include that Foster's management will remain within and Australia and its beer production will not be sourced out by SABMiller, as the usual practice of many giant corporate operations.
"SABMiller has agreed to a number of undertakings which recognise the significance of Foster's to our economy and to our community, and support Australian jobs," Swan stressed.
The British company is also required to invest on fortifying the current status of Foster's brand name while at the same time "work with its local employees to bring its global scale and expertise to the business."
"I also note SABMiller's current intention that Foster's operational employees will remain in their existing roles on the same or substantially similar conditions to those which they currently enjoy," Swan asserted.
On its part, SABMiller has manifested before the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) that it will preserve Foster's history and heritage and that "it will look to best capitalise on these attributes of Foster's business."
Swan's seal of approval finalised the billion-dollar deal following the nods won earlier by SABMiller from shareholders and government regulators for the merger to push through.