Japanese brewer Asahi taps Australia for growth

MELBOURNE — Five years after announcing its acquisition of Australian beer giant Carlton & United Breweries, Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings continues to expand in the country with smaller deals and a push into soft drinks.

CUB is the largest beer maker in Australia, with six domestic breweries and 1,700 employees. A CUB-owned brewery in Melbourne’s Abbotsford suburb produces 300 million liters of beer per year — around a fifth of the country’s total consumption.