Dutch beer maker Heineken announced a new $3.1 billion partnership Friday with a company that owns China’s largest brewer in the world’s largest beer market.
Heineken said the alliance will give it a 40 percent stake in the company, China Resources Enterprise, and positions both companies to capitalize on China’s rapidly growing premium beer market.
The famous Dutch brewer added that China is “now the second largest premium beer market” in the world, and CRE is the nation’s “undisputed market leader.”
CRE operates the country’s largest brewer, China Resources Beer.
“We believe that our strong Heineken brand and marketing capabilities, combined with CR Beer’s deep understanding of the local market, its scale and best-in-class distribution network, will create a winning combination,” Heineken CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer said in a statement Friday.
The deal gives Heineken a strong distributor and valuable presence in a country still considered an under-tapped beer market.
CRE chairman Chen Lang said the deal will greatly impact China’s brewing landscape.
“We believe we can win together in this new era,” he said.
As part of the deal, CRE will also acquire about 1 percent of Heineken’s shares for nearly $540 million.
China is the world’s largest beer market, where about 50 billion liters are consumed each year.