Victoria Bitter is owned by Asahi Group (Japan, TSE: 2502), which acquired the brand on 1 June 2020 from AB InBev, as part of a A$16 billion deal that also included Carlton Draught.[1] Before Asahi Group, Victoria Bitter was owned by AB InBev from 2016 to 2020.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. Integrated Report 2025, 31 March 2026. Last checked .
Victoria Bitter, known universally as VB, has been brewed in Melbourne since the 1850s and is among the best-selling beers in Australia, long marketed on an association with manual work. Asahi acquired it with Carlton & United Breweries in 2020.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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Asahi Group controls 9 brands on Brandtree, 9 of them in beverages.
The 200 brands in lager on Brandtree belong to 55 owners. The largest is AB InBev, with 17; Asahi Group has 7.
Asahi Group is a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1889. Brandtree records 9 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 2502.
Asahi Group Holdings was founded in Osaka in 1889 and is one of the two dominant Japanese brewers. It became a genuinely international company between 2016 and 2020 by buying the European and Australian beer brands that AB InBev was forced to divest to clear its takeover of SABMiller.
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 214 brands that began in Australia. 64 of them (30%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Victoria Bitter among them.
Asahi acquired Carlton & United Breweries, the Australian business AB InBev had inherited with SABMiller, giving it Victoria Bitter and Carlton Draught. The Australian competition regulator required Asahi to divest several cider and beer brands before approving the deal.
The parent company of Victoria Bitter is Asahi Group, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Victoria Bitter originated in Australia in 1854, but it is owned today by Asahi Group, which is headquartered in Japan. So Victoria Bitter is an Australian-origin brand under Japanese ownership.
Asahi Group completed its acquisition of Victoria Bitter on 1 June 2020, after announcing the deal on 19 July 2019. The deal, which also included Carlton Draught, was valued at A$16 billion (enterprise value).
Before Asahi Group, Victoria Bitter was owned by AB InBev from 2016 until 2020.
Yes. As of 25 September 2026, Victoria Bitter is still owned by Asahi Group. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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