Tokyo, Oct 22 - Asahi Breweries Ltd, Japan's largest beer maker, is in a leading position in a bid for Groupe Danone's Australian and New Zealand businesses, which could be worth up to A$1 billion ($678 million), a financial source said on Wednesday.
The source, who declined to be identified as the information is not yet public, said Asahi had progressed to the due diligence stage and is seen as a strong contender to buy Frucor Beverages, but added it was still unclear whether Asahi would clinch the deal.
Other potential buyers include Coca-Cola Amatil, the Australian unit of Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings, unlisted Japanese brewer Suntory, and Asian soft drink bottlers Fraser & Neave, according to bankers and analysts.
Frucor, whose products include Mizone Sportswater, Just Juice and the Pepsi franchise in New Zealand, has hired JPMorgan as a financial adviser, the source said.
Asahi, Kirin and Suntory representatives declined to comment.
Final bids were received late last week, all from trade buyers, a second source close to the transaction said, declining to say how many bids there were.
Talks are likely to go on for the next few weeks, but no deadline has been set for a final decision on a sale, the second source said.
Japanese brewers have been aggressively seeking growth opportunities abroad as the domestic beer market has been shrinking for years as the population ages and tastes change.
Asahi has lagged behind nearest rival Kirin in efforts to diversify and expand abroad, but it is also eyeing growth in the Asia-Pacific region and its bid for Frucor is in line with the company's global strategy, said Mizuho Securities analyst Hiroshi Saji.
"Demand for soft drinks in Asia-Pacific is said to have more growth potential than alcoholic beverages," Saji said.
"Also, Asahi is going after soft drinks because other foreign firms have already snatched substantial shares in Asia's biggest market China and because it has already been operating a soft-drink business in Japan."
Belgium's Le Soir newspaper also reported this month that Asahi was preparing to potentially make an offer for Belgian brewer InBev's South Korean operations, although Asahi later denied it.
Kirin bought Australia's National Foods for $1 billion last November, and the new subsidiary recently acquired that country's Dairy Farmers for $780 million. Kirin also has a 46 percent stake in Australasian brewer Lion Nathan
Frucor is seen as attracting a solid price despite the market turmoil because it is a defensive asset. Other food and beverage stocks have held up during the market downturn as investors look for firms that are insulated from a slump in consumer spending.
UBS analysts have valued Frucor at about A$1.08 billion including debt.
About five parties were said to have submitted indicative bids last month with some backed by private equity firms, but private equity companies have dropped out of the bidding as the global credit crunch dries up access to funding.
Pacific Equity Partners, CCMP Capital Asia and a consortium including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Merrill Lynch Private Equity and the privately owned P&N Beverages were among those that withdrew from the bidding.
Asahi shares fell 0.2 percent to 1,692 yen by midday, but outperformed a 2.9 percent drop in the Nikkei average Kirin gained 2.6 percent to 1,212 yen.