Brewer in $1.7 billion deal

Monday, Dec. 24, 2001 | 10:07 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Adolph Coors Co., the third-largest U.S. brewer, said today it agreed to buy Interbrew SA's Carling business for $1.7 billion in cash to expand internationally and gain the No. 2 beer brand in the United Kingdom.

Coors said it will finance the purchase with $200 million of its own funds and a combination of bank and public debt.

The 128-year-old brewer has been pushing into new markets as competition mounts in the United States. Interbrew was ordered to sell Carling by U.K. regulators, who objected to the amount of the beer industry under its control after the purchase of Bass Brewers and Whitbread Plc's British brewing business last year.

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