UPDATE 1-Heineken says 96.54 pct of Eichhof shares tendered
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AMSTERDAM, July 4 (Reuters) - Dutch brewer Heineken NV (HEIN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that 96.54 percent of the shares of Eichhof Getraenke Holding AG have been tendered but the takeover still needs competition authority approval. Heineken, the world's third largest brewer, said in April it planned to buy the beverage division of Switzerland's Eichhof Holding AG (EIN.S: Quote, Profile, Research) for 278.5 million Swiss francs ($271.7 million).
Eichhof Getraenke was created through a demerger, giving each Eichhof Holding investor shares in the beverage unit, and Heineken then launched an offer for Eichhof Getraenke which expired on Thursday. Heineken said a verdict from the Swiss competition commission investigation was expected by the end of September.
Eichhof's beverage division makes beers, non-alcoholic beverages and wine and had domestic beer volumes of 361,000 hectolitres in 2007. (Reporting by Niclas Mika; Editing by David Cowell)
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