Molson acquires Kaiser for $1.2 billion

On March 25, 2002, Molson Inc. of Montreal acquired Brazilian brewer Kaiser, in a transaction valued at US$765 million (C$1.2 billion). The sellers were international brewer Heineken and Coca-Cola and its bottlers in Brazil. As part of the transaction, the sellers acquired a share interest in Molson and Heineken took a minority position in a new Brazilian venture in which Molson has combined its previous Brazilian subsidiary, Bavaria, with the newly acquired Kaiser. Molson, with an approximate 18% market share in Brazil, is now the second largest brewer in Brazil and the thirteenth largest in the world. The transaction was financed by a combination of cash, the issuance of US $150 Million of shares of Molson, and a CA $1.125 Billion syndicated acquisition financing.

The legal team for Molson was directed by Senior Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Marie Giguère in Montreal. Ms. Giguère was assisted in Canada with respect to corporate, acquisition and securities matters as well as with respect to the syndicated acquisition financing for the transaction by a team of lawyers from the Montreal office of Fasken Martineau led by Maurice Forget (corporate finance/securities) and Xeno Martis (corporate finance/banking).