Slovenian beer turns sour as state fire sale looms

A decade ago, with Slovenia cruising towards membership of the European Union, a local brewery called Union caught the eye of Belgian beer giant Interbrew. Union and its larger rival, Lasko (LJU:PILR), are national treasures in Slovenia, a question of allegiance that divides beer drinkers the same way soccer splits Manchester between City and United. Finally it gifted Union to Lasko, brushing aside complaints from Interbrew and creating a monopoly that to this day controls 80 percent of the Slovenian beer market. Ten years and millions of euros in accumulated debt later, Lasko is one of dozens of companies controlled directly or indirectly by the Slovenian state that face being sold in a fire sale of national assets to steady the country's finances.

via Business News - Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/slovenian-beer-turns-sour-state-072730380.html