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| Business Words in the News
Friday 31 May 2002
Vocabulary from the business news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
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African brewer seals Miller takeover
Summary: South African Breweries is taking over the American beer maker Miller in a deal worth more than five and a half billion dollars. The new company will be called SABMiller and it will be the world's second largest brewer. This report from Andrew Walker.
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| | The News | |
| | | SABMiller will have an extensive collection of beer brands. Miller Lite is a very popular lager in the United States. South African Breweries brings the Castle range to theparty, which dominates in its home country and is sold elsewhere in the continent. It has also bought breweries around Africa and the rest of the world, which have generally been modernised but retained the local brand.
In Europe, it owns the popular Pilsner Urquell beer, made in the Czech Republic. It has a strong presence in much of Central and Eastern Europe and has also acquired a number of breweries in China. The deal gives South African Breweries a position in the very profitable US market. It also reduces its dependence on revenues in the South African rand, a currency which has been weak in recent years.
Miller's current owner is the American tobacco and food processing company Philip Morris, and it will retain a minority stake in the new business. A spokesman for Philip Morris said the new company will have the capability to become the world's leading brewer. There are no indications that the merger is intended to lead to job cuts. The merger is due to be completed in July provided anti-monopoly regulators and shareholders in SAB do not object.
Andrew Walker, BBC
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| | The Words
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| | | extensive
here, large
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| | | brands
a brand of a product is the version made by a particular manufacturer
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| | | brings the Castle range to the party
brings its range of “Castle” beers to the merger; among the different beers made by SAB is a range called “Castle”
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| | | retained the local brand
continued to produce the local beer
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| | | has a strong presence in
has a large share of the market in
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| | | acquired
bought
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| | | gives SAB a position in
allows SAB to enter
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| | | retain a minority stake in
keep a small number of shares in
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| | | merger
when a merger takes place, two or more companies join together
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| | | anti-monopoly regulators
officials who ensure that no one person or organisation owns all or nearly all of the market for a particular product
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