FEMSA to sell it's beer unit

Mexican conglomerate FEMSA expects strong growth for its convenience store business in 2010, but declined to give any details on the possible sale of its beer unit.
Chief Executive Officer Jose Antonio Fernandez said the company could open 850 new Oxxo convenience stores in 2010, about the same growth pace expected for this year.
Monterrey-based FEMSA disclosed last month that it was in talks about its beer unit. The company has talked to Britain's SABMiller - which analysts see as the most likely acquirer - and Heineken from the Netherlands.
The potential sale of the beer unit, which market watchers estimate could raise $7.5 billion, would give Mexico's No. 2 brewer new cash to strengthen its Coca-Cola bottling business and expand its Oxxo network.
Oxxo entered Colombia earlier this year, and Fernandez did not rule out expanding to new markets in the future. As of the end of September, FEMSA had nearly 7,000 Oxxo stores.