Beer giants agree £68bn takeover
14 Oct 2015
SABMiller has agreed to a £68billion takeover by AnheuserBusch InBev (AB InBev), heralding the creation of a global brewing powerhouse.
The agreement in principle was announced on Tuesday, and follows a month of negotiations which eventually saw the Belgian-based AB InBev raise its offer from £38 to £44 a share.
The union of these two brewers has been ranked by the Financial Times as the third largest takeover in history, as they combine operations that span all significant emerging and established beer markets.
SABMiller’s top brands include Peroni and Grolsch and will join a well-stocked shelf of AB InBev labels that include Budweiser, Beck’s, Stella Artois and Corona.
Their combined operations are believed to account for about a third of the global beer market.
The all-cash offer represents a premium of about 50% to SABMiller’s closing share price of £29.34 on 14 September 2015, prior to speculation of an approach from AB InBev.
It is expected that both companies will divest some international assets to win regulatory approval for the takeover deal.
