(Yicai Global) Dec. 21 -- Investment conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. [HKG:0656] will become the second largest shareholder of China's premier home-grown beer brand Tsingtao Brewery [SHA:600600; HKG:0168]. Fosun will buy out Japan's Asahi Group Holdings Ltd.'s stake in China's oldest and biggest brewery as the Japanese firm, the second largest shareholder, has decided to exit.

Asahi will sell all of its shareholding (270,127,836 H shares) in the brewery, accounting for 19.99 percent of the total equity, Tsingtao Beer said in a statement today.

Fosun's five affiliates will pay a total of HKD6.61 billion (USD884 million) to acquire 243,108,236 H shares, about 17.99 percent of Tsingtao's total equity, from Asahi, implying an average price of HKD27.22 per share, per the statement.

The Japanese firm will transfer the remaining 27,019,600 H shares, 1.99 percent of the total equity, to a subsidiary of Tsingtao Brewery Group, the public company's controlling shareholder, for HKD735 million, the statement noted.

After the deal, Tsingtao Brewery Group will remain as the largest shareholder of the brewery, and its direct and indirect holdings will rise from the current 30.83 percent to 32.82 percent. Fosun will own a 17.99 percent stake and thus become the second largest shareholder.

Tsingtao Brewery closed at CNY36.55 (USD5.56) on the A-share market and HKD40 on the H-share markets yesterday. Before the announcement of the share transfers, the firm's A share price jumped 18 percent after an 11-day winning streak, and the H share rallied by 20 percent over the past six trading days, hitting two-year highs in both markets.

Fosun will unswervingly support Tsingtao's strategy of "making the best beer" in the world, and will share its hotel, catering and commercial property resources with the company and kick off collaborations in these fields, Fosun's founder and chairman Guo Guangchang said in a statement last night, adding that the partnership will also involve sharing customer, 'C end,' resources, a valuable asset in the mobile internet era.

The Shanghai-based international conglomerate has stepped up acquisitions of Chinese and foreign consumption and healthcare related assets in recent years, in an effort to drive a transition toward the "health, happiness and wealth" businesses. However, it has shifted its focus on domestic assets following China's capital outflow control measures.