The State of Australian Beer

What a small, twisted world. I was reading about some Aussie breweries, and learned the "Big Two" here are Fosters and a Japanese-controlled company called Lion Nathan, which I'd never heard of. (Kirin Holdings owns LN.) LN owns: Tooheys, Hahn, James Squire, Boag's, etc. They also own several Australian and NZ wineries, and one in the USA: Argyle Winery in dear ole Dundee, Oregon. Wacky.

Also, Little Creatures, which I thought was independent, is actually owned by Little World Beverages, which is about 40% owned by...Lion Nathan. (Although, Little World director Howard Cearns characterizes Little Word as "fiercely independent," saying Lion Nathan's stake is a "passive investment.")

Finally, last month SABMiller put in a $10 billion takeover bid for Fosters. Apparently some of the smaller Aussie brewers want it to go through, because if it did, they would be some of the last Aussie-owned breweries left. The Australian reports, "A successful foreign purchase of Foster's would leave South Australia's family-owned Coopers -- with just 3.6 per cent of the domestic beer market -- as Australia's leading brewer."

Sources:
http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/wa-company-news/boutique-brewers-raise-glass-to-takeover-talk/story-e6frg2s3-1226080417937
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/bn-fosters-bid-from-sabmiller-leaves-bitter-taste/story-e6frg8zx-1226079564027
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_World_Beverages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Nathan