Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world's biggest brewer, posted first-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates and agreed to sell its South Korean unit to KKR & Co for $1.8 billion, sending the shares up the most since November.

Net income almost doubled to $716 million, the Leuven, Belgium-based brewer said yesterday, exceeding the $484 million median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The maker of Stella Artois will use proceeds from selling Seoul-based Oriental Brewery to repay some of the $45 billion of debt taken on when the former InBev NV bought Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch Cos last year. With the $52 billion merger, the Belgian brewer obtained a dominant position in the US, the world's largest and most profitable beer market.