Argentina: SABMiller/InBev merger likely to cause market concentration

The ripples from the Mega-Merger involving the world’s two leading brewers will greatly alter the Argentine market. Experts estimate that SABMiller’s Isenbeck and InBev’s Quilmes brands will likely now control up to 80% of the beer market.

AB InBev’s challenge will be to get the green light from regulatory agencies around the world, probably delaying the merger up to a year. The greatest challenges are expected in the US and China, although the merger must also pass muster with Argentina’s Competition Defense authorities, among many others.

Argentina’s beer market is dominates by InBev, whose range of brands including Quilmes, Brahma, Stella Artois, Norte and Andes account for 75%, followed by Chile’s CCU Group, with 22%. Not long ago, Quilmes itself was forced to divest of its own subsidiary brands, when it merged with former rival Brahma.

Source: iEco Clarín

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.