Manila, April 23 - Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings , fresh from approaching Australia's Lion Nathan Ltd about a buyout, has increased its stake in San Miguel Brewery, the Manila-based beermaker said on Thursday.
Kirin raised its stake to 48.3 percent after buying 778.85 million shares at 8.84 pesos via a tender offer in a deal worth around 6.9 billion pesos ($141.8 million).
Japan's No. 2 brewer paid conglomerate San Miguel Corp 58.9 billion pesos for an initial 43.3 percent stake in San Miguel Brewery in February at the same share price.
Kirin, which is battling Asahi Breweries for the top slot in Japan's beer market, has been aggressively pursuing overseas acquisitions.
Earlier on Thursday, Lion Nathan said Kirin had made an approach to buy the remaining 53.9 percent in Australia's second-largest brewer it does not already own. [ID:nSYD494793]
San Miguel Corp, parent firm of the Manila-based brewer, has said it would use proceeds from the stake sale to partly fund acquisitions as it ventures out of its core food and beverage business and into heavy industry to feed future growth.
San Miguel will still hold about 51 percent of San Miguel Brewery after the deal. Kirin has had a long partnership with parent San Miguel, but is now focusing its investment in the brewery arm.
Shares of San Miguel Brewery slipped 1.1 percent to 8.80 pesos on Thursday, deeper than a 0.2 percent decline in the main index.