Diageo - which is something of a hotch-potch of a company taking in interests as diverse as burgers to booze to cream liqueur to stout - has found it hard to convince the market that there is a logic to such a broad-ranging business.

Focus in the buzzword for drinks companies and many in the market believe that Diageo is seriously unfocused and in dire need of rationalising its operations to concentrate on its global booze brands.

The group might dismiss the idea as soon as it is raised but recent moves in the brewing industry might convince Diageo bosses that demerging or selling the Guinness brewing business is one way to convince the market that it really is a company focused on global drinks brands.

Scottish & Newcastle's £1.7 billion sterling (#2.8 million) takeover of Danone's beer business in France, Italy and Belgium - including the Kronenbourg brand - has catapulted S&N into the number one position in the European brewing hierarchy with more than 44 million hectolitres.

Back in fifth position with more than 15 million hectolitres is Guinness, which made its attitude towards expansion in brewing clear last year when it sold its Cruzcampo business in Spain to Heineken.

Bit by bit, the European brewing industry is being consolidated into fewer and fewer players, with S&N/Danone, and Heineken exerting an increasingly dominant position.

On the other hand, Bass, Britain's number two brewer, is up for sale and Whitbread is also expected to be put on the block. So where does this leave Guinness? Out on a limb, say industry analysts, who believe that it is only a matter of time before Diageo gets an approach to sell.