Budweiser maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has agreed the terms of its $107 billion takeover of rival SABMiller, in a deal that will combine the world’s two largest beer makers.
AB InBev will pay £44 ($70) for each share in SABMiller, the price it offered on October 13.
To clear the way for the takeover, SABMiller is to sell its 58% stake in its US joint venture MillerCoors.
SABMiller is selling the stake to its main partner in the business, Molson Coors, for $12 billion.
The newly-created company will produce about 30% of the world’s beer.
AB InBev’s brands include Stella Artois and Corona, while SABMiller produces Peroni and Grolsch.
“Our combination with SABMiller is about creating the first truly global beer company and bringing more choices to beer drinkers in markets outside of the US,” said AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito.
SABMiller has a workforce of close to 70,000 people in more than 80 countries, and global annual sales of more than $26 billion.
AB InBev has a workforce of 155,000 and global revenues of more than $47 billion.
The two companies are predicting cost savings of at least $1.4 billion a year.
Giant beer producer SABMiller accepted an increased takeover offer from rival Anheuser-Busch InBev.
SABMiller said it had agreed “in principle” a £44-a-share offer, after four previous attempts from AB InBev.
AB InBev’s brands include Stella Artois, Budweiser and Corona, while SABMiller produces Peroni and Grolsch.
If the deal, worth about £70 billion ($112 billion), goes ahead, the newly-created company will make about 30% of the world’s beer.
SABMiller has a workforce of close to 70,000 people in more than 80 countries, and global annual sales of more than $26 billion. AB InBev has a workforce of 155,000 and global revenues of more than $47 billion.
Photo Reuters
AB InBev had made four previous bid approaches for SABMiller – at £38, £40, £42.15, and £43.50 per share – but they had been rejected by SABMiller, which argued they undervalued the company.
In a statement, the boards of the two companies said they had now “reached agreement in principle on the key terms of a possible recommended offer”.
The two companies have not yet formally finalized the terms of an offer, but the latest development means they have extended the City deadline for a firm offer until October 28.
The latest proposal comes a day before the original deadline, by which AB InBev had to make a formal bid for SABMiller or walk away for six months.
The offer represents a premium of about 50% over and above SABMiller’s share price in mid-September, before the bid battle started.
On October 13, SabMiller’s share price rose 9% to £39.48 in London trade, while shares in AB InBev were 2.85% higher at €101.15 in trading in Brussels.
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