Lion Nathan, the drinks company backed by Japanese brewer Kirin, has made a bold attempt to become the dominant beverage group by sales in Australia and New Zealand with a A$7.7bn (US$5bn) offer to acquire Coca-Cola Amatil.

The cash and shares bid for CCA surprised the market, which has been focused on consolidation elsewhere in the Australian consumer goods sector, including stake-building in Foster’s by Molson Coors, the North American brewing group.