The sale of iconic Australian brewing company, Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) closed Monday, after recent approvals from the ACCC and FIRB. Read Media Release here.

Together with global counsel Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Freshfields), G+T advised Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer on its divestment in Australia. The deal required navigating a range of commercial and regulatory issues. Freshfields and G+T worked closely with AB InBev and CUB to achieve a successful closing following signing of the deal in July 2019.

The ACCC did not oppose the sale of CUB to Asahi after Asahi agreed to divest two of CUB’s beer brands and three of its cider brands. AB InBev also provided a supporting undertaking to facilitate the transfer of the relevant licences. 

G+T provided strategic advice to AB InBev and CUB in relation to the ACCC and FIRB approval processes.

The G+T M&A/corporate team on the transaction was led by partners Neil Pathak and Craig Semple, with lawyers Matthew Ampt, Rose Burnfield, Nick Madders, Alon Takac and Erin Kirker.  Partner Deborah Johns handled FIRB matters and partners Elizabeth Avery and Gina Cass-Gottlieb led on Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation matters, with lawyers Jeremy Jose and Jacqueline Reid.  The team was also supported by experts in the Banking + Infrastructure, Tax, Real Estate + Projects and Employment groups.

Gilbert + Tobin’s market-leading M&A/Corporate Advisory team regularly advises on many of Australia’s largest and most innovative transactions, including advising DuluxGroup on its $3.8 billion acquisition by Nippon Paint, BGH Capital on its $2.1 billion acquisition of Navitas, KKR on its $2 billion acquisition of MYOB and KKR’s proposed acquisition of a majority interest in Colonial First State.

Gilbert + Tobin’s Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation Group is the pre-eminent competition practice in Australia. They are known for achieving outstanding commercial results, through innovative solutions and perseverance even when previous applications for transaction clearance or dispute settlement have failed. The team was named the leading firm in Asia-Pacific for Competition (Who’s Who Legal 2018), ranked Band 1 for Competition/Antitrust (Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020) and Tier 1 for Competition + Trade (Legal 500 2020).