San Miguel buys Ginebra’s non-alcoholic beverage assets

MANILA, Philippines –  San Miguel Brewery Incorporated (SMB), a joint venture between San Miguel Corporation and Japan’s Kirin Holding Company, is acquiring the non-alcoholic beverage assets of Ginebra San Miguel Incorporated (GSMI) for nearly P400 million ($8.96 million).

SMB’s acquisition of Ginebra’s non-alcoholic beverage business is aligned with the company’s diversification strategy to seize opportunities in the booming non-alcoholic beverage industry.

SMB noted that the non-alcoholic beverage category remains to have a larger share of the whole beverage industry, growing at a faster pace than the alcoholic category.

SMB and GSMI are sister companies and are both owned by San Miguel.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ginebra said it signed a deed of sale in favor of SMB for the sale of finished goods inventories and other inventories like containers on hand; packaging materials; goods in process; and raw materials used by the company in its non-alcoholic beverage business for the purchase price of P214.97 million ($4.82 million).

Ginebra also sold the property, plant, and equipment being used for its non-alcoholic beverage business, including machinery and equipment, vehicles, coolers, chillers, and other equipment of as end-December 2014.

“With the foregoing, total purchase price paid for the non-alcoholic beverage assets of the company is P397.89 million ($8.91  million), exclusive of value added tax (VAT); net of adjustments to the price of the property; plant and equipment that SMB purchased from the company on April 1, 2015, after subsequent validation and confirmation by the parties,” Ginebra said.

Ginebra is the largest gin producer by volume in the world with some of the most recognizable brands in the Philippine liquor market. It also produces bottled purified water, carbonated energy drinks, non-carbonated tea, and fruit juices in ready-to-drink bottled and powdered formats in the Philippines.

SMB, on the other hand, is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of fermented and malt-based beverages, particularly beer of all kinds and classes. It is the largest beer producer in the Philippines with 6 production facilities located across the Philippines. – Rappler.com

$1 = P44.65