The other part of Altria is SABmiller which is 28% owned by Altria. Sabmiller is the world's second largest beer producer with plants in 150 countries. It is basicaly an African Company with corporate Headquarters in London.
Oligopoly brief: SABMiller
SABMiller, the #2 beer brewery in the world, was founded in 2002. It is the product of the sale of Miller Beer from Philip Morris (now Altria) to South African Breweries, a 108-year-old company. Although its origins are in South Africa, the worldwide company is managed mostly from London. (How many Americans now realize that Miller is a foreign-owned brew?)
South African Brewers was a small, provincial concern until the 1990s. Because of the boycott of the apartheid regime, the company was confined to that country. Aside from beer, it dabbled in soft drinks, hotels, glass, textiles, food service and other businesses.
After apartheid ended in the early 1990s, the company was poised to expand. First, it bought brewery operations in a number of African nations, where it spread its Castle Lager brand. It also started buying breweries in the newly emerging Eastern European market.
In 1998, it purchased it first famous international brand, Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic. The firm made moves into China (where it is now the biggest foreign-based brewing company) and in India. It also went into Central America.
The big move came with the 2002 purchase of Miller Brewing, the number two American brand, after Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch. What's truly remarkable is that the company raised the $5.6 billion to buy controlling interest in the company. (Altria, the ex-owner, still has a considerable stake in the Miller operation.)
This past May, the company showed it still had money to play with. It purchased the Peroni Brewery, the largest Italian brewery. That is its first beachhead in Western Europe. It is now one of the main players in Eastern Europe, from Poland to Russia to Romania.
Source:
http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2003/07/07.html