Dutch brewing giant Heineken has struck a deal to acquire the beverage unit of Switzerland’s Eichof Holdings for $279 million.
Eichof operates a Lucerne brewery, which has production capacity of 400,000 hectoliters (about 320,000 barrels) and 2007 domestic beer sales volumes of 361,000 hectoliters.
Heineken said the latest acquisition will give it a 10-percentage-point boost in its Swiss market share, bringing it to nearly 25%.
Heineken’s also getting Eichof’s wine, mineral-water and soft-drink operations in the deal; they represented 45% of total volumes.