and John Martens

Bloomberg

LONDON - Anheuser-Busch InBev NV agreed to sell beer brands in nine eastern European countries to CVC Capital Partners Ltd. for as much as $3 billion, reducing debt with its second asset sale to a buyout firm in a month.

The world's biggest brewer said it will get about 1.1 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in cash from CVC, which will also give AB InBev a six-year interest-bearing note worth about 300 million euros as a deferred payment obligation. Leuven, Belgium- based AB InBev will receive as much as $800 million in further compensation, depending on CVC's return on investment.

CVC gets assets including the Czech Republic's Staropramen in the biggest leveraged buyout in continental Europe since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy last year. AB InBev has been repaying debt since it was created by the former InBev NV's $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. last year, which united brands from Budweiser to Stella Artois.

"The disposals have been very fast, and the prices they've achieved haven't deviated much from pre-crisis estimates," Robert Jan Vos, an analyst at Fortis Bank Nederland NV in Amsterdam, said in an interview. "It won't be very long until we see AB InBev back in the acquisition arena." Vos has a "hold" rating on the shares.

AB InBev's managers, led by Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito, receive bonuses when they reduce debt, and have said they would like to make more acquisitions. Shares of Mexico's Grupo Modelo SAB have been rising on speculation the Corona brewer may seek a merger with AB InBev.

The deal "enables us to exceed our stated commitment to achieve $7 billion in divestitures," Brito said in the statement. The sale is expected to be complete by January.

The brewer also has the right to make a first offer should CVC decide to sell the businesses. Today's deal follows the brewer's Oct. 7 announcement that it would sell the former Busch amusement parks to Blackstone Group LP for as much as $2.7 billion, also including deferred payments.

In July, AB InBev sold its South Korean business for $1.8 billion to KKR & Co., with a provision granting the brewer the right to buy it back.

Deferred payments and provisions for potential asset buybacks have helped the brewer "achieve decent prices," according to Kris Kippers, an analyst at Petercam SA in Brussels.