InBev to Sell Oriental Brewery

Belgian brewer InBev NV is planning to put its South Korean beer business up for sale, in an effort to shed a noncore asset and raise what could be roughly $2 billion for its purchase of U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc.

 Deutsche
Bank and JPMorgan Chase will run the auction for the Oriental
Brewery, but Japanese brewers Kirin Holdings Co Ltd and Asahi
Breweries Ltd may be among the interested bidders for the unit. ,The
auction is not likely to start until the closing of InBev's planned
$52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch.

InBev, set to become the world's
largest brewer after the deal, has said it was considering the
disposal of noncore assets.

Oriental Brewery sold 6.9 million
hectoliters (182.3 million gallons) of its product in 2007, a figure
that in part led sources to estimate the roughly $2 billion price
tag. The business is South Korea's second-largest brewer behind Hite
Brewery Co Ltd .Oriental Brewery sells global brands Beck's and
Stella Artois, as well as Cass beers. It became part of InBev's
operations in 1998 and merged with Cass Brewery in 2001, according to
a company fact sheet.