AmBev is the largest brewer in Brazil and in South America, and the fourth largest brewer and fifth largest beverage producer in the world, through its beer brands Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Patricia, Nortena, Ouro Fino, as well as soft drink brands such as Guarana Antarctica, and its franchise agreements for Pepsi soft drinks and Gatorade, and Lipton Ice Tea. AmBev has been present in Argentina since 1993 through its local subsidiary CCBA S.A. with its Brahma brand, and operates a plant that required a $150 million investment. AmBev also operates with its own plants in Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela. .
Quilmes Industrial (Quinsa) S.A. is the largest brewer in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay and has a share of the Chilean market. Its brands include Quilmes Cristal, Pacena, Andes, Norte, Heineken (under license), Pilsen, Becker, Baltica and Baviera among others. Furthermore, it is the main Pepsi bottler in Argentina (including Gatorade and Tropicana) and Uruguay, and has an association with Nestle Perrier Vittel in Argentina for the production and sale of the bottled water brands Eco de los Andes, Glaciar and Nestle Pureza Vital. .
AmBev and Quinsa are Public Limited Companies. Both are owned by two or more shareholders and have limited liability. Limited liability is where a business owner is only liable for the original amount of money invested in the business. In this kind of businesses there is a divorce between control and ownership and their finance support is the best mainly because of the stock exchange which is a market where second hand shares are bought and sold. Quinsa is listed on the New York and Luxembourg Stock Exchanges while AmBev is listed on the New York and Sao Paulo Stock Exchanges. Moreover, both operate as Holding Companies as they are not only a company in their own right, but also have enough shares in numerous other public limited companies to exert control.
