Heineken CEO not planning mega-merger: Report

BRUSSELS: Heineken NV, the world's third-largest brewer, is not planning an Anheuser-Busch InBev style mega-merger, its chief executive was quoted saying in an interview with Belgian business magazine Trends.

"We want to remain an independent group and keep our familial character, we therefore do not have the intention of undertaking a major merger," Chief Executive Jean-Francois van Boxmeer told the magazine in an interview published on Thursday.

Belgium-based InBev bought Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion in 2008 to become the world's biggest brewer. Van Boxmeer added that the Heineken brand could double if the company gains a few percent market share in developing countries such as India and Mexico.

"If we can take a few percent from these enormous markets we could grow, even maybe double, the Heineken brand," he told the magazine.

In January, Heineken said it would buy the beer business of Mexico's FEMSA for 3.8 billion euros ($5 billion) in an all-share deal, giving it a leading position in emerging Latin American markets. Just over half of the Dutch brewer's revenue last year came from western Europe.