Heineken to buy Femsa for over $7.5B
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Steve Chiotakis: The Dutch brewing company Heineken is buying the second-largest beer maker in Mexico, Femsa. It’s a deal worth more than $7.5 billion. More from Marketplace European Correspondent Stephen Beard.
Stephen Beard: The two companies do seem to fit together. Heineken already distributes Femsa beers in the United States. The deal will give Heineken a leading position in the Mexican market.
Olly Wehring is with Just Drinks.com. He says buying Femsa is a good move for the Dutch brewer:
Oily Wehring: Heineken is also very quiet in Mexico which is a large beer market — it’s in the top five for sure. So it does make sense for Heineken to get into bed with Femsa, bearing in mind that they already work together in the U.S.
The markets had been expecting Sab Miller to win the bidding for Fesma. But in the end, Miller got cold feet over the price and pulled out. Heineken says the deal could cut its costs, eventually .saving it more than $220 million a year.
In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
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