Chilean Brewer Snaps up Argentine Brands

Chilean brewer Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) has acquired Argentina’s Inversora Cervecera in Argentina for $88m. Invesora Cervecera owns the Bieckert, Palermo and Imperial beer brands, which it purchased from Brazil’s AmBev last year. CCU is the second-largest brewer in Argentina. The acquisition would help to solve CCU’s capacity constraints in this country, says S&P, which expects the deal to be financed with cash and new debt. The BBB+ (stable) rating will not be affected, adds the agency.