Philippine brewer hires banks to draw loans

Philippine San Miguel Brewery Inc, which agreed to buy parent company San Miguel Corp.’s overseas beer units last month, hired 10 banks to help it borrow $300 million, the Bloomberg News reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Mandaluyong City, Philippines-based San Miguel Brewery’s five-year bullet loan may pay interest of 2.5 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, said one of the people, who declined to be named as the plan is private.

San Miguel Corp, the largest Philippines food and drink company, said Dec. 18 that it agreed to sell its international beer operations to San Miguel Brewery for $300 million.

The brewer, 51 percent-owned by San Miguel Corp. and 48 percent by Tokyo-based Kirin Holdings Co., said the debt-funded purchase should be completed by the end of January.

At least six banks sent San Miguel Brewery offers of about $500 million in three- to 10-year loans for the acquisition.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Calyon, DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Standard Chartered Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Chinatrust Commercial Bank, ING Groep NV, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are the banks contributing to the five-year loan, according to sources.

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