MANILA, Philippines - The head of diversifying food-and-drinks conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is now open to giving up control of the group’s flagship beer-manufacturing subsidiary San Miguel Brewery Inc. to Japanese partner Kirin Holdings Co. “at the right price.”

“At the right price, anybody can buy anything. Now it’s a question of what is the right price [for San Miguel Brewery],” SMC chairman and chief executive officer Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. told the BusinessMirror in a chance interview over the weekend in Tarlac province.

Cojuangco, however, clarified that Kirin has “not yet” made any offer.

The beverage tycoon was responding to a question on whether SMC was open to diluting its stake in San Miguel Brewery, in which SMC holds a controlling 51%.

The incoming president of Japanese brewer Kirin told foreign media last week that he would like to increase the company’s stake in San Miguel Brewery to a majority position to give Kirin a bigger footprint in the region.

Kirin, Japan’s biggest brewer, currently holds over 48% of San Miguel Brewery, while 0.7% is held by public investors.

At current prices, SMC’s stake in San Miguel Brewery is worth about P72.3 billion.

SMC had earlier said it would like to retain control, or at least 51%, of its core food-and-drinks businesses, while selling off minority ownership to fund its diversification into heavy infrastructure to tap higher returns.

Meanwhile, San Miguel Brewery controls up to 95% of the Philippine beer market apart from its overseas operations.

Just last month, it acquired the international beer business of SMC for $300 million, allowing the company to expand its presence in Southeast Asia and in China.

The conglomerate’s international beer business owns breweries in neighboring Asian countries, namely, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Kirin made its initial investment into San Miguel Brewery in April and May last year, when it bought SMC’s 43.25% stake in the local brewer for P58.92 billion.

Kirin, likewise, hiked its holdings following a tender offer, bringing its ownership in the local brewer to the present 48%.

For the first nine months of 2009, San Miguel Brewery said revenues rose 5% to P37 billion, while operating income also rose 5% to P11.3 billion. The company produces the flagship San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Red Horse Beer, Cerveza Negra and Gold Eagle Beer, among other brands.

Meanwhile, funds to be generated from any asset sale will likely add to SMC’s diversification goals.

Since announcing a plan to expand outside its core food-and-drinks businesses three years ago, SMC has made significant investments in various sectors, such as telecommunications, toll roads and mining, as well as in power generation and distribution.