AB InBev has exercised its option to buy back South Korea's OrientalBrewery (Oriental) from the private equity company KKRand its partner Affinity Equity in a deal worth US$5.8bn. AB InBevoriginally sold Oriental to KKR in 2009 for US$1.8bn in the aftermathof InBev's US$52bn acquisition of Anheuser Busch in 2008,so the deal represents a handsome return for KKR. AB InBev soldOriental at a time when a key focus was raising cash to pay downdebt taken out to finance the largest acquisition that global beer hadseen. One of the food and drink team's core long-term views is thatthere is still room for consolidation in global alcohol, particularlyin Asia, where Oriental Brewery was one of a select number ofcompanies that could potentially be involved in the 2014 leg of theconsolidation process.
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