Interbrew declares victory in Bass deal - Brief Article

Modern Brewery Age, Oct 8, 2001

The Belgian brewing group Interbrew has claimed a victory over British government regulators, after Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary, ruled that it could choose to sell either the entire Bass Brewing business or just the Carling brewery operations--currently part of Bass--to overcome competition concerns.

Under the ruling, Interbrew would be able to keep the crown jewels of the Bass empire--Bass's Scottish Tennent's business, the Northern Ireland Caffrey's brand and the Bass Ale brand throughout the UK. The company had been ordered to sell all of these assets on an earlier ruling. "We are pleased with the decision... which clears the way for us to strengthen our UK platform as well as our international portfolio," said Interbrew's chief executive officer, Hugo Powell.

Interbrew said the ruling would leave it with a 15.8% share of the UK market, excluding the Heineken brand it sells under license.