Citigroup Inc. bankers were bound to show up in what may be the final significant transaction in the global beer industry's consolidation -- Amsterdam-based Heineken NV's €5.3 billion ($7.7 billion) cash-and-stock acquisition of the beer business of Fomento Económico Mexicano SAB de CV, or Femsa, announced Jan. 11.

Citi, which advised Heineken in the deal, helped Belgium's InBev SA in its $52 billion agreement to acquire Anheuser-Busch Cos. in 2008 -- a transaction that created the world's No. 1 brewer and gave the new entity, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, 50% of Mexico's Grupo Modelo SAB de CV, Femsa's archnemesis and the brewer of iconic Corona beer.

"Femsa has been looking at its strategic options for probably a year," says a banker involved in the deal.

Citigroup's Leon Kalvaria and Jeffrey Schackner led Heineken's Femsa team. The Citi pair also stood by Anheuser-Busch during the InBev approach, and their firm advised Molson Inc. in its 2004 merger with Colorado's Adolph Coors Co. to form Molson Coors Brewing Co. In 2003, Citi advised SABMiller plc in its €246 million acquisition of Italy's Birra Peroni SpA. But when Heineken joined with Denmark's Carlsberg A/S for the £7.8 billion ($12.8 billion) acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle plc in August 2008, the Dutch company chose Credit Suisse Group as its financial adviser.

For legal counsel on the Femsa acquisition, Heineken relied on a Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP team led by Stephan Haimo and including Jeffrey Trinklein, Eduardo Gallardo, Robert L. Cunningham, William Candelaria, Daniel Mummery and Steven Finley. Amsterdam-based Loyens & Loeff NV also served as legal counsel.

Femsa turned to Rothschild's Akeel Sachak and Allen & Co. LLC for financial advice. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP's Jaime El Koury and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP's Julian Long and Richard Norbruis provided legal counsel.