PEP, Unitas tipped to sell Independent Liquor to Asahi

The private equity firms set Thursday as the final deadline for bids. Independent Liquor primarily focuses on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages and premixed hard-liquor drinks. Australia accounts for 60% of sales, with the remainder in New Zealand.

Asahi was joined in the first round of bidding by Japanese rival Suntory Holdings. It remains unclear whether Suntory will attempt to beat its rival's offer. Chinese firm Bright Food Group has also been linked with Independent Liquor.

Should Asahi emerge as the victor, it would mark the latest in a series of outbound deals by Japanese beverage companies. Facing sluggish sales at home, these firms are aggressively seeking to expand into foreign markets, supported by low capital costs and a strong yen.

Earlier this week, Kirin Holdings announced a $2.6 billion plan to acquire a majority stake in Brazil's Schincariol. In July, Asahi agreed to buy Permanis, Malaysia's second-biggest soft drink maker, for $273 million, and also signed two soft drinks M&A deals with P&N Beverages Australia and New Zealand's Charlie's Group worth a total of $309 million. Asahi has earmarked $10 billion for M&A up to the 2015 fiscal year.

Suntory was reported to have lost its fierce battle with The Carlyle Group for Indonesia's GarudaFood. However, the Japanese firm is believed to be setting up a joint venture with GarudaFood and sources familiar with the Indonesia market are uncertain whether Carlyle's deal will go through, given the high valuation.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Consumer
• Exits
• Pacific Equity Partners
• Unitas Capital
• The Carlyle Group