Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

and

soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sug ...

, known for Foster's Lager, now called

Carlton & United Breweries Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, ...

since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

by two American brothers, who sold the brewery a year later. The company was renamed prior to sale to British-South African multinational

SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world' ...

in 2011. Foster's wine business was split into a separate company,

Treasury Wine Estates Treasury Wine Estates is an Australian global winemaking and distribution business with headquarters in Melbourne. It was formerly the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group. History Background Treasury Wine Estates traces ...

, in May 2011. In October 2016

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters in ...

acquired SABMiller, which ceased trading as a corporation, making the Foster's Group a direct subsidiary of the parent company. In June 2020, Carlton and United Breweries was sold to the Japanese beverage giant,

Asahi Group Holdings is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business (4 ...

History

Foster's was founded in Melbourne in 1888 by two American brothers William and Ralph Foster of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

, United States, who happened to own a refrigeration plant. Cooling was necessary to brew and store acceptable lagers in Australia's hot climate, unlike the English-style dark ales commonly brewed at the time. They sold the brewery the following year and returned to the United States. In 1983

Elders IXL Elders Limited, formerly known as Elder, Stirling & Co., Elder Smith and Co. and Elder Smith & Co. Ltd, is an Australian agribusiness that provides agricultural goods and services to primary producers in Australia. History Early history (183 ...

, a giant Australian diversified conglomerate, purchased

Carlton and United Breweries Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, ...

, and renamed it Elders Brewing Group. Then in 1990, the Elders Brewing Group changed its name to the Foster's Group, to reflect the name of their most internationally recognised product. In 2005, Foster's Group acquired the Australian wine-making group

Southcorp Wines Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, Vi ...

. This acquisition added famous brands such as

Penfolds Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently ...

, Lindemans and Rosemount to the Foster's stable and around A$1 billion to revenues. In May 2011, Foster's Group's Treasury Wine Estates unit was spun off into a separate company. The first day of trading saw its share price soaring, valuing the separate entity at A$2.2 billion. There had long been speculation that the beer sector or all of Foster's Group would be subject to a takeover by a larger firm. Groups to express such an interest over the years have included

Diageo Diageo plc () is a multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweichow Moutai of China in 2017 ...

, the British-South African company

, Molson Coors and

Heineken International Heineken N.V. () is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. , Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality be ...

. Foster's Group was renamed

(CUB), and its wine business split into a separate company, Treasury Wine Estates, in May 2011. CUB was sold to SABMiller in September 2011, valued at (US$10.2bn; £6.5bn). Foster's Group Limited shares (ASX code: FGL) were suspended from trading on the ASX on 2 December 2011 and delisted from the ASX at close of trading on 20 December 2011. On 10 October 2016

acquired

. SABMiller was delisted and ceased trading on global stock markets, and Foster's Group became a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. As a result, Foster's Group became a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. In 2019, '' Business Insider'' reported that

, a large Japanese beverage corporation, would buy Anheuser-Busch InBev's Australian assets, "including Foster's beer and Carlton and United Breweries". In June 2020, Anheuser-Busch InBev completed the sale of Carlton and United Breweries to Asahi Group Holdings.

Business

In 1990,

Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business (4 ...

acquired a 19.9% stake in Australian brewery giant Elders IXL which later became Foster' s Group. Foster's Group imports, licenses, and distributes a large number of brands. In Australia, Foster's distributes the Cinzano, Perrier,

Skyy vodka SKYY vodka is an American vodka spirit produced by the Campari America division of Campari Group of Milan, Italy, formerly SKYY Spirits LLC. SKYY Vodka is 40% ABV or 80 proof, except in Australia and New Zealand where it is 37.5% ABV / 75 Proof ...

, Stella Artois, and

42 Below Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 a ...

import brands among many others. While in the United States and Canadian markets,

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canadian based brewery company based in Montreal which was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Can ...

brews and sells Foster's Lager under license. In August 2008, it was convicted and fined more than A$1 million for two breaches of

's Occupational Health and Safety Act which led to the death of a worker in 2006. The prosecution of the company by the Director of Public Prosecutions for WorkSafe Victoria resulted in a call for the company to better report on health and safety in its annual report. CEO

Trevor O'Hoy Trever O'Hoy was the President and CEO of Foster's Group from 2004 until 10 June 2008. He was educated at Monash University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics in 1976. He has attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program ...

resigned on 10 June 2008 after poor performance by the wine division of the group. O'Hoy was replaced by Ian Johnston on 21 July 2008 in the position of acting CEO. Foster's announced yearly results which ended on 30 June 2009. The net sales revenue increases by 2.7% to A$4.5 billion. Net profit increases by 4.0% to A$741.5m and earnings per share increases by 4.6% to 38.5 cents. In 2011, Fosters made major losses that including a write-down in the value of the wines division to A$1.8 billion that at the business's AGM in Melbourne on 29 April 2011, 99% of Fosters Group shareholders agreed to split Fosters Group business into two separate brewing and wines companies. The wines business became

, and was listed on the ASX on 10 May 2011. In an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

interview in late August 2011, the Carlton United Group (Fosters beer division) announced that they would be focusing more on

craft beer Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

to meet the change in taste of the Australian drinker. In 2011, Foster's was acquired by SABMiller; the latter was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in October 2016.

Brands

Beers and breweries

** Carlton Black ** Carlton Draught **

Crown Lager Crown Lager is a 4.9% premium Australian beer originally made by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), a subsidiary of Foster's Group. The beer was first brewed in 1919 under its former name, "Foster's Crown Lager". History Carlton & United Breweri ...

** Melbourne Bitter ** NT Draught ** Pure Blonde ** Reschs ** Sheaf Stout **

Victoria Bitter Victoria Bitter (VB) is a lager produced by Carlton & United Breweries, a subsidiary of Asahi, in Melbourne, Victoria. It was first and brewed by Thomas Aitken at Victoria Brewery in 1854 and is one of the best selling beers in Australia. His ...

** Victoria Bitter Gold *

Cascade Brewery Cascade Brewery is a brewery established in 1824 in South Hobart, Tasmania and is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia. As well as beer, the site also produces a range of non-alcoholic products. It is home to a function cen ...

**Cascade Amber Ale **Cascade Bitter **Cascade Blonde Lager **Cascade Draught **Cascade Export Stout **Cascade Green **Cascade Lager **Cascade Pale Ale **Cascade Premium Lager **Cascade Premium Light **Cascade Stout *Foster's ** Foster's Lager ** Foster's Lightice **Foster's Radler * Great Northern Brewing Co. *

Grolsch Grolsch Brewery (Koninklijke Grolsch N.V. - "Royal Grolsch"), known simply as Grolsch (), is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895 the de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in ...

* KB *

Matilda Bay Brewing Company The Matilda Bay Brewing Company was a West Australian brewery. It was the first new brewery opened in Australia since World War II and Australia's first craft brewery. Originating from small batches brewed for the Sail and Anchor Hotel in 1 ...

**Alpha Pale Ale **Beez Neez **Big Helga **Bohemian Pilsner **Dog Bolter Dark Lager **Fat Yak **Redback * Miller ** Miller Chill **Miller Genuine Draft * Peroni **Peroni Nastro Azzurro *

Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell (; cs, Plzeňský prazdroj ) is a lager beer brewed by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied ...

Power's Brewery Power's Brewery now CUB brewery, is a brewery based at Yatala in South East Queensland, Australia. It started out as an upstart brewery headed by publican Bernie Power to compete against the major Queensland brewery Castlemaine Perkins, in par ...

** Power's Bitter ** Power's dry ** Power's Gold

Cider

Bulmers Bulmers cider is one of a number of brands owned by British cider maker H. P. Bulmer of Hereford. It is one of the biggest selling British bottled cider brands in the UK because it has the highest concentration of apples, with a number of var ...

* Mercury * Strongbow

Spirits

* Akropolis Oyzo * Barossa Brandy * Black Jack * Continental Liqueurs *

Cougar Bourbon Cougar bourbon whiskey, formerly called Sam Cougar's, is a brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, by MGP Indiana. It is an export-only brand owned by Foster's Group (a division of SABMiller) that is bottled and sold in Aus ...

* Coyote Tequila * Karloff * Kirov * Prince Albert's Gin * The Black Douglas

Non-alcohol

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

*Torquay

References

External links

Beringer, Foster's Pop Champagne On Deal

{{Authority control Multinational companies headquartered in Australia Food and drink companies established in 1888 1888 establishments in Australia SABMiller Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Holding companies of Australia AB InBev brands it:Foster's