Is A-B “Running Out of Opportunities” Globally?

Rumors it may make a run for Russian brewer.

Might Anheuser-Busch make a run for the biggest Russian brewer?

Baltik Beverages Holding, the No. 1 Russian brewer, currently is jointly owned by Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg SA. But Carlsberg, which teamed up with Heineken NV in a bid for S & N, is poised to take over the whole entity.

But the Daily (London) Telegraph is reporting rumors that A-B might try to crash the party.

From the report:

Anheuser Busch, the US brewing monolith behind the Budweiser brand, has long coveted the Russian business and the coming weeks could present it with its last chance to get its hands on one of the world's fastest growing brewers.

Carlsberg looks set to take full control of BBH, the Russian joint venture, after Scottish & Newcastle accepted a £7.8bn joint takeover bid from the Danish brewer and Heineken last month. However, industry insiders believe there is a chance Anheuser could still crash the party.

The reason is that while A-B has a dominant market share in the United States, it has a limited presence in developing markets that will drive the growth of the global beer industry in years to come.

From the Telegraph story:

One insider at a European brewer said: "For Anheuser it is decision time because it has a problem. They have an historic opportunity with S&N or InBev because they are running out of opportunities. "

Speaking of Russia, SABMiller plc CEO Graham Mackay said the brewer is eyeing expanding its presence in Russia, through acquisition or organic growth.

The Telegraph story can be seen here.

The Financial Times' coverage of Mackay's comments on Russia can be seen here.