12 August 2009 - As mentioned in the Announcement of Annual Results for 2008, a reduction of the Group's debt level is a strategic main priority, and the agreement entered into to sell the Caribbean breweries is a result of the initiatives launched to achieve this.
The sale comprises Royal Unibrew's shares of St. Vincent Breweries Ltd. (76.5%), Antigua Brewery Ltd. (93%), Antigua PET Plant Ltd. (75%) and Dominica Brewery & Beverages Ltd. (58%).
The total consideration for the shares amounts to USD 31 million (DKK 160 million). Moreover, the purchasers will take over the debts of the companies. On an aggregated basis, the transac-tion will reduce Royal Unibrew's interest-bearing debt by just below DKK 200 million. The net realisable value of the shares is equal to their carrying amount. On a full-year basis, the Group's earnings (before minority shareholders' share) will be reduced by DKK 30 million (EBITDA) and DKK 10 million (EBIT), respectively.
The agreements with CND, which is the market leader in the Dominican Republic, comprise partly sale of Royal Unibrew's shares of the breweries in Antigua (including a soft drinks facil-ity), Dominica and St. Vincent, and partly an agreement for licence production and sale of Vi-tamalt at all the divested breweries and in the Dominican Republic. The introduction of Vita-malt in the Dominican Republic means that, for the first time, Vitamalt will be distributed in a major, Spanish-speaking market in the region.
The agreements are subject to, among other things, approval by the government in Antigua and the attainment of certain licensors' acceptance of the change in ownership. The transaction is expected closed at the end of 2009. Consequently, the transaction is not expected to affect the Group's earnings (EBIT) in 2009.
In connection with the sale of the majority holdings in the Caribbean companies, the business model for the Group's malt drinks segment will be changed. The Vitamalt brand, which is the number 3 global malt drinks brand in terms of size, as well as the Group's other brands in this segment will in future be sold either on an export basis or produced on licence in selected mar-kets. The malt drinks segment still represents a significant part of Royal Unibrew's activities, and the segment shows strong earnings.