Danding Cojuangco

Last Friday, Bloomberg reported that Kirin was looking into the possibility of raising its stake in San Miguel Brewery. The Japanese beer giant already owns 48% of the company, with San Miguel Corporation owning 51%.

An increase in stake would almost certainly give Kirin control of San Miguel Brewery’s operations, which include significant inroads into the growing Southeast Asian market that the former covets. However, any deal for the Brewery would certainly come at a premium, but if Kirin is willing to dance, San Miguel Corporation might be willing to listen. After all, the Danding Cojuangco-chaired conglomerate has been actively seeking to diversify into high-growth, capital-intensive businesses over the last couple of years. Just this month, San Miguel has been reported to be included in deals involving a power plant in Mindanao, a major expressway from Manila to Tuguegarao, and an MRT project from Manila to Bulacan.

It would be hard to imagine San Miguel Corporation giving up control of its flagship brand, but stranger things have happened in the world of business. The conglomerate, in fact, has been quite involved in major transactions involving large food and beverage businesses in the country. In 1998, San Miguel sold its stake in its ice cream and dairy business to erstwhile joint venture partner Nestle, which led to Magnolia ice cream being off the market for five years. In 2001, San Miguel bought the Purefoods business from the Ayala Corporation, which was looking to raise funds to finance capital expenditure for its Globe Telecom business. In 2007, San Miguel sold its stake in the local Coke business to the Coca-Cola Company, effectively ending a partnership that dates back to 1927.

Curiously, the last two transactions directly involved PBA ballclubs. It remains to be seen how this potential transaction would affect the status of the San Miguel team, who enjoy a prominent spot in the company’s culture owing to Cojuangco’s love of the sport; the Brewery’s corporate website, in fact, reserves a prominent spot for the Beermen. Will the San Miguel Corporation retain control of the Beermen even if it no longer controls the Brewery? Will the PBA franchise be re-assigned to another San Miguel subsidiary, that is, welcome back, Magnolia Beverage Masters? Or will Kirin take control of not just the Brewery, but the team as well?

Source: Jaemark Tordecilla, firequinito.com