Kirin Brewery Co. said Friday that it will buy a 15 percent stake in Philippine beverage maker San Miguel Corp. to expand its business in the Southeast Asian market.
Japan's top brewer will buy shares of San Miguel, which the Manila-based brewer expects to issue in spring, for 68 billion yen.
Kirin bought shares of Australian beer brewer Lion Nathan Ltd. in April 1998. The three groups' combined sales totaled 5 million kiloliters in 2000.
San Miguel has a 90 percent share of the domestic beer market and conducts business in wide areas in Asia such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Kirin said it topped a ranking of beer sales in Asian and Oceanic markets in 1999 at 2.87 million kiloliters, while San Miguel placed fourth at 1.33 million kiloliters.