Lion Nathan forms joint venture

Australasian brewing company Lion Nathan Ltd is to form a joint venture with logistics firm Linfox Pty Ltd to provide warehousing and distribution services to the brewer in Australia.

The company is seeking to achieve economies of scale by channeling all its distribution requirements through a single supplier, according to a statement by CEO Rob Murray.

The company said restructuring costs associated with the implementation of the new joint venture and cost saving measures from its Project Invest initiative would result in charges of A$45 million ($51.5 million) pre-tax and A$32.2 million on an after-tax basis.

Lion today said it had incurred pre-tax restructuring cash costs of A$20.6 million along with non-cash asset write-downs of A$21.4 million.

Shares in the dual-listed Lion Nathan closed on Tuesday at A$8.46, and were unchanged in New Zealand at $9.40.

- REUTERS