Whilst I was away in Europe, I apparently missed a bold move by Japan’s Kirin to grab hold of a majority interest in Brazil’s second largest brewery, Schincariol. It was widely speculated even up to the day of my departure that the suitor would be not the Japanese brewer, but Heineken, already the owner of Brazil’s number two brewery, Kaiser.
(Even though it is a distant second place to the global monster Anheuser-Busch InBev, Schincariol is a brewer of extreme significance and one of the few big prizes left in the North American brewery consolidation sweepstakes. It is also owner of the pioneering Brazilian craft brewer, Eisenbahn.)
All has not gone smoothly for the Japanese, however, as the company now finds itself, like the French grocery chain Carrefour before it, caught up in a Brazilian family feud, as reported by the Financial Times here. As a result, Kirin now finds itself with a frozen stake in the Brazilian brewer, as reported by nikkei.com.
Very interesting post! Kudos man!
Brazil must hold on to its national treasure !