Merrill: Foster’s Could be Next Candidate for Beverage Buyout

The whirlwind of recent beverage buyouts may continue, as Foster’s Group Ltd. ( OTC: FBRWY ) - Australia’s biggest beer and wine maker - may be a takeover target after it conducts a review of its wine business. That assessment didn’t come from the company, however, but rather Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER) analysts. Foster’s Chairman David Crawford said in a conference call that he’d consider “all alternatives” about the company’s wine unit, which is the second largest in the world, Bloomberg reported. A day before Merrill’s review, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Trevor Louis O’Hoy resigned after the company cut…