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Asahi Breweries Ltd. said Wednesday it would buy a 10% stake in the much smaller Okinawa-based Orion Beer Co. Japan's largest brewer by market share will pay Yen 2.1 billion ($17.7 million) to purchase the entire equity stake Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. now holds. The transaction will make Asahi Breweries the largest shareholder in the country's fifth-largest brewer, which holds almost 1% of the market share in Japan. Asahi, Japan's No. 2 brewery by market capitalization, established a sales presence in Okinawa four years ago and hopes the Orion deal will help it push further into that market. --Jennifer M. Hanawald www.TheDeal.com