Panama needs to continue to work on attracting more companies if it truly wants to become the Hub of The Americas. This is a lesson on how good a job the Beacon Council did on attracting SAB Miller to from Columbia to Miami. For the most part, the story for Panama is positive – this according to Dan Marcus at Panama Pacifico
Panama is capturing its share of Latin America HQ deals, including Grainger, Caterpillar, VF, Covidien and Samtec, who have all created regional hubs in the rapidly-developing new city of Panama Pacifico in the past year, generating over 500 new, quality jobs. More on Panama Pacifico
One of the region’s largest brewers plans to move its Latin American headquarters out of Latin America and into South Florida.
By DOUGLAS HANKS
dhanks@MiamiHerald.com
It’s looking like Miller Time on Brickell Avenue.
The company behind Miller, Coors Light and Corona plans to move its Latin American headquarters out of Bogota and into Miami, according to several people familiar with the deal. The move involves a relatively small office — between 50 and 70 people will work at the SAB Miller office at 1450 Brickell Ave. — but is seen as a coup for the city’s standing as a corporate hub for the Americas. “It’s a stamp of approval for Miami,’’ said William Holly, head of the Cushman and Wakefield brokerage in Miami.
Holly was not involved in the lease between SAB Miller and the new 35-story office tower, which opened two years ago. While details haven’t been made public, Miller is expected to rent an entire floor in the building. The building, which goes by the name “1450 Brickell,” is about 80 percent occupied without Miller, according to publicity materials.
The Beacon Council, a tax-funded non-profit that recruits companies to Miami-Dade, did not respond to interview requests Monday. Miller also did not respond to inquiries. Management at 1450 also declined to answer questions about the deal, which is considered all but done by people familiar with the move.
In October, the South Florida Business Journal reported the Beacon Council was pursuing $182,000 in state and county relocation incentives for Miller, deducing correctly that the company in the confidential aid application was SAB Miller.
That application says an unnamed global beverage company considering a Miami move will spend about $1.5 million renovating its offices and employ 70 people making an average salary of $88,000. Of the $182,000 in subsidies applied for by the company, about $145,000 would come from the state. Miller would start with about 50 employees, and add another 20 within two years.
According to the application, Miller apparently considered consolidating its Latin American office into its U.S. headquarters in Chicago. Based in London, SAB Miller is one of Latin America’s largest brewers, with about $1.6 billion in sales. It bottles Coca-Cola products in El Salvador and Honduras, and owns the third-largest brewer in Argentina.