Beer deal: Japan's Asahi buys SABMiller's Peroni, Grolsch, Meantime brands

Japanese brewer Asahi Group has offered to buy SABMiller’s Peroni, Grolsch and London Meantime brands and their associated businesses in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK for $2.87 billion.

The deal could help Anheuser-Busch InBev satisfy European regulatory requirements as it attempts to complete the $100-plus billion purchase of SABMiller and is conditional on the the completion of the sale, which is expected to happen during the second half of the year.

Asahi has been trying to bolster its presence outside Japan. The deal would give the brewer the global rights to the Grolsch, Peroni and Meantime brands in most markets around the world, with the notable exception in the case of Peroni and Grolsch in the U.S. Those two premium brands have been around more than 400 years and 150 years, respectively. Meantime is a UK-based craft beer that Asahi says has been popular among young urbanites in London.

"Through this proposed acquisition, Asahi aims to expand its global platform in Europe and become a global player with a distinct position..." Asahi said in a release.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow Paste BN Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter.