Interbrew's chief executive, Hugo Powell, said last week that the Belgian giant was not looking at any sale of its Whitbread brewing arm in order to gain clearance from the British competition authorities for the acquisition of Bass Brewers.
Powell said in Brussels that after the Department of Trade and Industry in January followed a recommendation by the Competition Commission and blocked Interbrew's purchase of Bass Brewers, "we assumed that we were focused on a disposition of Bass and that we would be keeping Whitbread.
"The regulatory decision affected Bass, and until there is a reason to see differently we can assume that this is the case."
Since the High Court overruled the Competition Commission's recommendation on May 25, there has been little progress towards finding a remedy because the trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers was busy with the general election and his replacement needs time to adjust to her new portfolio, Powell said.
Byers was replaced with Patricia Hewitt after the election. Powell has yet to speak with Hewitt, but he said he expects her to make decision in conjunction with the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry "shortly".
"I think it is reasonable that we will have an outcome in the next two to three months," Powell said.
This leaves time for Interbrew to carry out the requirements imposed by the authorities by the end of the year, he said. However, Powell declined to speculate on what remedies the OFT might come up with.
He said: "It has never happened before that a ruling by the competition authorities has been overturned, and with the election running it has taken time to work out what the way forward will be which makes it impossible to speculate on the outcome."
Although the court's ruling criticised only the way the competition authorities arrived at the its decision, while upholding the decision itself, Powell said he expects a better result from the new review.
By obtaining the right to have its case re-examined, Interbrew will have the opportunity to discuss the competition concerns with the authorities and propose remedies, Powell said.
"Knowing what are the problems and what could be the solutions means that the next chapter has a better chance," he said.
Powell said in Brussels that after the Department of Trade and Industry in January followed a recommendation by the Competition Commission and blocked Interbrew's purchase of Bass Brewers, "we assumed that we were focused on a disposition of Bass and that we would be keeping Whitbread.
"The regulatory decision affected Bass, and until there is a reason to see differently we can assume that this is the case."
Since the High Court overruled the Competition Commission's recommendation on May 25, there has been little progress towards finding a remedy because the trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers was busy with the general election and his replacement needs time to adjust to her new portfolio, Powell said.
Byers was replaced with Patricia Hewitt after the election. Powell has yet to speak with Hewitt, but he said he expects her to make decision in conjunction with the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry "shortly".
"I think it is reasonable that we will have an outcome in the next two to three months," Powell said.
This leaves time for Interbrew to carry out the requirements imposed by the authorities by the end of the year, he said. However, Powell declined to speculate on what remedies the OFT might come up with.
He said: "It has never happened before that a ruling by the competition authorities has been overturned, and with the election running it has taken time to work out what the way forward will be which makes it impossible to speculate on the outcome."
Although the court's ruling criticised only the way the competition authorities arrived at the its decision, while upholding the decision itself, Powell said he expects a better result from the new review.
By obtaining the right to have its case re-examined, Interbrew will have the opportunity to discuss the competition concerns with the authorities and propose remedies, Powell said.
"Knowing what are the problems and what could be the solutions means that the next chapter has a better chance," he said.
