Turkey's Anadolu Efes buys out Belgian AB InBev's share in Russian AB InBev Efes JV

MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes and the Belgian AB InBev, which announced last year the start of negotiations on the sale of AB InBev's non-controlling stake in the Russian joint venture AB InBev Efes BV, have reached an agreement.

"To date, the parties have reached an agreement on the acquisition by Efes Breweries International BV (EBI) of AB InBev's shares in AB InBev Efes BV," the Turkish company said in a statement.

Upon completion of the transaction, Anadolu Efes, through EBI, will become the sole owner of AB InBev Efes BV.

"The purchase will be subject to approvals, which the parties must obtain from all necessary authorities, and the transaction will not take effect until such approvals are received," the statement said. "Anadolu Efes will not make an immediate cash payment upon completion of the transaction. Future payments will be determined by AB InBev Efes BV's annual cash flow performance in the countries in which the company operates."

The company also announced that as of January 1, 2024, Umut Omar Adjun, who holds the position of General Director for Special Projects, will be appointed General Director for Operations in Russia.

AB InBev Efes was created in 2018 as a result of the merger of the businesses of Anadolu Efes and Anheuser-Busch InBev in Russia and Ukraine. The legal merger was completed in March 2019 in the form of the merger of Moscow-Efes Brewery JSC with Sun InBev JSC, which was renamed AB InBev Efes JSC.

In 2019, AB InBev Efes became the leader in the Russian beer market, overtaking Carlsberg in market share.

AB InBev Efes has 11 breweries and 3 malt complexes in the Russian Federation.

According to the SPARK-Interfax analytical system, the revenue of JSC AB InBev Efes in 2022 increased to 97.5 billion rubles from 85.4 billion rubles in 2021, while net profit rose to 12.2 billion rubles from 5 billion rubles, respectively.