Mexican Beer … from Europe

The Dutch brewer Heineken NV said Monday it would buy the beer-making operations of Mexico's Femsa in an all-share deal that values the maker of Dos Equis, Tecate and Sol beers at $5.5 billion, excluding debt.

The buy would increase Amsterdam-based Heineken's presence in growth markets and cements its position as the world's second-largest brewer by sales. It also continues a decade-long trend toward concentration among the biggest players in the global beer market.

Femsa Cerveza brands have a 43 percent market share in Mexico and a 9 percent share in Brazil -- two of the world's Top 4 most-profitable beer markets, and both still fast-growing. Femsa's Tecate and Dos Equis brands are also significant players in the U.S. imported beer market, where Heineken vies with Grupo Modelo's Corona.

The worlds largest brewer is Belgium's InBev, which bought Anheuser-Busch -- and SeaWorld -- not long ago. In October, InBev announced it was selling its U.S. theme parks to the Blackstone group. Blackstone, in turn, later announced it was changing its name to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, according to a published report.