New York, Jun. 10 - Peter Swinburn, named to the top job at Molson Coors Brewing Co on Tuesday, said he plans to expand the brewer, which is already strengthened by a merger and a joint venture.
Swinburn, a Welshman who is currently the chief executive of Coors Brewing Co, said in an interview that once he takes over, the maker of Coors Light and Molson Canadian will continue doing what it has been doing -- building its brands and investing in its core markets of Canada, the United States and Britain.
But with one major difference: Molson is joining its U.S. business with that of SABMiller PLCin a joint venture in which Molson will have a 42 percent stake -- a move Swinburn hopes will give the company more clout to expand globally.
The deal is expected to be formally completed by the end of the month, at which time Swinburn will take on his new job.
"The MillerCoors JV (joint venture) really gives us additional firepower ... not only to invest in our brands in our core markets but hopefully it will give us the opportunity to look at investing in developing our brands on a broader footprint, on a worldwide basis," Swinburn said.
That also includes making smart acquisitions, joint ventures or partnerships, he said.
Molson Coors was formed by the 2005 merger of Adolph Coors Co with Canada's Molson Inc, while SABMiller was formed in 2002 when South African Breweries bought Miller Brewing.
Swinburn is replacing Leo Kiely, who is going on to lead the joint venture.
Swinburn declined to say what countries Molson is looking to expand in. He only pointed out that the current business is "very biased to developed markets."
In the latest quarter, ended on March 30, 61 percent of Molson's sales volume came from the United States, with about 22 percent coming from the U.K. and 16 percent from Canada.
"So there's an unerring logic that says 'look at developing markets.' We would look at developing markets to see what opportunities are out there," Swinburn said.
He also did not rule out purchases in other places.
"If the right opportunity came up in a developed market, we'd look at that as well," Swinburn said. "It really just comes down to what opportunities present themselves."
Swinburn predicted the continuation of the global beer industry consolidation, which has seen SABMiller buy Grolsch, Carlsberg A/Sand Heineken NVsplit up Scottish & Newcastle, and InBev NVconsidering a bid for Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc.
Swinburn said Molson Coors will be a player in it.
"We have an aspiration to be a top-performing global brewer. We don't believe that we can get to that position unless we manage to maintain a relative scale to other people in the marketplace," Swinburn said.
When asked whether Molson would consider a deal with Anheuser or a different deal with SABMiller if SABMiller did a deal with Anheuser or InBev, Swinburn said Molson already has its "work cut out" for it in the United States as it integrates the joint venture.
"We want to make sure we get all the benefits and synergies out of that opportunity first before we look at anything else," Swinburn said.
SABMiller, whose beers include Miller Lite, Peroni Nastro Azzuro and Pilsner Urquell, has been named in media reports as an alternative merger target for InBev.
Molson increased its share of the U.S. market by about 0.6 percent in May and about 0.8 percent so far this year.
"We are continuing to outpace the market. At the moment, the majority of our brands are showing good growth," Swinburn said, citing Coors Light, Keystone and Blue Moon.
"We've not really seen down trading, or shifts in channel consumption," Swinburn said, referring to consumers choosing cheaper beers or drinking more at home instead of going out because of the weakened economy. "I'm not saying that's going to continue forever but that's what we're seeing at the moment."
Molson shares closed down 91 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $57.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. They are up nearly 12 percent this year, outpacing a 9 percent increase for Anheuser shares and a 6 percent decline for the Dow Jones U.S. Beverage Index over the same period.