What is Anheuser Bush, the world's biggest brewer waiting for That is the question increasingly nervous investors are asking themselves in the wake of SAB Miller's HK$4.30 richly-priced general offer for Harbin Brewery on May 24. The offer is equivalent to a priceearnings ratio of 38 times 2003 earnings and four times Harbin's net asset value for the same year.
The stakes are high. If AB can be counted on to make a counter offer to SAB Miller, then Hong Kong-listed Harbin Brewery's stock price may continue to shoot through the roof. The share price has already jumped from HK$3.225 at the end of April to its current...