Prompted by stiff competition from foreign companies, Germany’s brewing sector continues to take steps away from the family controlled and strictly regulated practices of the past and move more towards consolidation. The latest sign of a changing business culture is the deal struck between the country's third-biggest brewer, Radeberger and Stuttgart-based brewer Hofbräu Brau. Radeberger has announced that has bought a 50 percent stake in Hofbräu worth an estimated €60 million ($73 million). Radeberger chief executive Ulrich Kallmeyer told reporters that the deal was just the start and that he aimed to play an active role among future merger and acquisitions in the sector.