The global beer giant AB InBev two days ago announced a formal offer to acquire SabMiller for the equivalent of 112 billion euro. As foreseen by the preliminary agreement signed by the companies a month ago, the Belgian-Brazilian AB InBev will pay 44 pounds per share for the British SABMiller with the shareholders receiving a premium of 50% compared to the share price on 14 September, the day before the start of the rumors about a possible deal.
If the transaction is approved by the shareholders of both groups and by the regulatory authorities of the many countries involved, it will be the third largest acquisition ever recorded in all sectors, since the total cost of this deal should reach 80 billion pounds (112 billion euro) including debt. The operation, according to AB InBev, should be completed in the second half of 2016. In order to avoid ending up in the net of the authorities for his dominance, SabMiller will sell, for the amount of 12 billion dollars (11.2 million euro), its majority stake in the American MillerCoors Brewer in favor of Molson Coors, another brewer in the United States.
The advisors for this operation are Lazard, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for AB InBev. While JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co. are advising SABMiller.
The new board will be composed for 9 of the 15 seats by the Belgian and Brazilian families that control AB InBev but they will see their ownership decreased from more than 50 percent to about 44 percent. On the other hand SABMiller’s two biggest shareholders, Altria Group Inc. and Colombia’s Santo Domingo family, will have a 16.5 percent stake in the new company, according to the statement. The merged company will be listed in Brussels, Mexico and Johannesburg.
In breweries therefore we will have the chance to choose between the brands of the American Budweiser and the Belgian Stella Artois (which belong to AB InBev) to the Italian Peroni, the Czech Pilsner Urquell and the Dutch Grolsch (Sab Miller brands) without leaving the perimeter of the same manufacturer. A giant that will deliver 60 billion liters per year, which represents three times the current number two in the sector, the Dutch Heineken.
Vincenzo Carandente
If the transaction is approved by the shareholders of both groups and by the regulatory authorities of the many countries involved, it will be the third largest acquisition ever recorded in all sectors, since the total cost of this deal should reach 80 billion pounds (112 billion euro) including debt. The operation, according to AB InBev, should be completed in the second half of 2016. In order to avoid ending up in the net of the authorities for his dominance, SabMiller will sell, for the amount of 12 billion dollars (11.2 million euro), its majority stake in the American MillerCoors Brewer in favor of Molson Coors, another brewer in the United States.
The advisors for this operation are Lazard, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for AB InBev. While JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co. are advising SABMiller.
The new board will be composed for 9 of the 15 seats by the Belgian and Brazilian families that control AB InBev but they will see their ownership decreased from more than 50 percent to about 44 percent. On the other hand SABMiller’s two biggest shareholders, Altria Group Inc. and Colombia’s Santo Domingo family, will have a 16.5 percent stake in the new company, according to the statement. The merged company will be listed in Brussels, Mexico and Johannesburg.
In breweries therefore we will have the chance to choose between the brands of the American Budweiser and the Belgian Stella Artois (which belong to AB InBev) to the Italian Peroni, the Czech Pilsner Urquell and the Dutch Grolsch (Sab Miller brands) without leaving the perimeter of the same manufacturer. A giant that will deliver 60 billion liters per year, which represents three times the current number two in the sector, the Dutch Heineken.
Vincenzo Carandente