Japanese beermaker Sapporo Breweries has agreed to purchase Canadian brewer Sleeman Breweries, apparently depriving Molson Coors Brewing Co. of the chance to boost its share of Canada’s beer market.
Molson Coors has never publicly acknowledged bidding for Sleeman, but it and Sapporo were among four companies reported to have submitted bids.
Sleeman is Canada’s third-largest brewer, with 7 percent of the market. The acquisition would have given Molson Coors about 49 percent of the market.
“In Sapporo’s offer, we not only received fair value for shareholders but confidence that Sleeman has an owner with the financial resources and track record to continue to grow and build Sleeman’s national portfolio of premium brands,” said John Sleeman, company chairman and chief executive.
Denver-based Molson Coors spokesman Paul De La Plante couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
Sapporo will pay $355 million for Sleeman, the companies said in a release Friday.
Molson Coors, the largest brewer in Canada, had widely been considered the most obvious choice to win Sleeman. Some analysts reportedly voiced concerns that regulators might not approve such a merger because it might reduce competition too much.
But the acquisition of Sleeman wouldn’t have given Molson Coors enough of the market for regulators to object, Joseph D’Cruz, a professor of strategic management at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, said before the merger announcement.
Other possible bidders reportedly were Royal Grolsch and InBev, which already owns Canada’s Labatt brands and controls 41 percent of the market.
Two-thirds of Sleeman’s shareholders must approve before the agreement is official.
The companies said they expect the deal to close in mid-October.
Sleeman put itself up for sale in May, and bidding closed last week.
Meanwhile, the shareholders of ketchup-maker H.J. Heinz are expected to vote Wednesday on a slate of directors that could replace sitting directors, including Molson Coors vice chairman Pete Coors.
Dissident Heinz shareholder Nelson Peltz has proposed that he and four others replace the five.
Peltz, who holds 5.5 percent of Heinz’s stock, is angry that Heinz’s stock returns trail those of its peer group and has launched a proxy fight.
Heinz has said that replacing Coors and the other board members with Peltz and his nominees would reduce the board’s independence.
Heinz also says it is working to improve its results.
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-820-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
