Canadian brewer Molson Cos. and Australian beer...

Canadian brewer Molson Cos. and Australian beer maker Elders IXL Ltd. said they would merge their Canadian beer operations to create the country’s largest brewery and try to grab a greater share of the U.S. market. Molson Breweries, formed by the merger of Molson’s and Elders’ Carling O’Keefe Breweries of Canada Ltd., will be Canada’s largest beer maker with 17 breweries, officials said. The new, equally owned venture now ships 15 million cases of beer a year to the United States but hopes to boost those exports to about 40 million cases.