ANHEUSER-BUSCH Inbev's (AB Inbev) $11bn (£8.4bn) asset sale to Japan's Asahi could hurt competition in Australia's cider sector and may also do the same for beer, the country's competition regulator warned yesterday.

AB Inbev's planned sale of Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is part of the world's largest brewer's drive to lower its debt pile.

It has been busy selling assets and listed its Asian business in Hong Kong in September.

"The proposed acquisition would combine the two largest suppliers of cider in a highly concentrated market," the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a report, adding the combined business would control about twothirds of cider sales in the country.

Asahi might also act as a competitive constraint on the two largest beer brewers in Australia — CUB and Lion — and has "the potential to be an even bigger threat in future," the ACCC said.

AB Inbev had aimed to close the sale in the first quarter of 2020. The ACCC said it would make a final decision on 19 March. Asahi would likely be required to dispose of a cider brand, Bernstein analysts said.

Reuters

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