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Heineken to buy Mexico's FEMSA for $5.4 billion


    AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Global brewery Heineken NV on Monday said it will buy the beer business of Mexico's FEMSA for 3.8 billion euros ($5.44 billion), giving the Dutch brewer a top position in the Mexican and Brazilian markets.

    HEINEKEN (HEIA.AM)said the all-share transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter, has an enterprise value of 5.3 billion euros ($7.6 billion) including pension obligations and net debt.

    FEMSA will hold a 20 percent economic interest in the Heineken Group and will get the right to appoint two nonexecutive members to the supervisory board.

    Heineken forecast annual cost synergies of 150 million euros by 2013. It expects the deal to add to earnings per share within two years.

    Heineken will issue 86 million new shares to FEMSA on closing and has agreed to deliver 29 million existing Heineken shares to FEMSA over no more than five years.

    ($1=.6983 Euro)

    (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Hans Peters)