Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, best known as the manufacturer of Budweiser, is planning to acquire SABMiller, the maker of Peroni and Grolsch. According to the reports, the proposed bid could be about $106 billion, with a starting offer expected as early as Monday morning.
AB InBev and SABMiller have begun their amicable meetings and the latter seemed to be playing hard to get over the agreement price. However, the British-South African multinational brewing and beverage company is also not unreceptive to the deal.
Earlier this month, the world's largest brewer AB InBev has approached SABMiller regarding a possible merger. According to Reuters, the takeover of the second largest brewer by revenues would create a gigantic multinational company that would manufacture a third of the world's beer. The merged group would also have a market value of about $275 billion. Additionally, the merger would combine AB InBev's dominance of Latin America with SABMiller's control of Africa, which are both fast-growing markets, as well as their Asian breweries.
Despite SABMiller initial hesitation about negotiating a deal, the London-based brewer became more open to the idea after pressure from tobacco giant and Marlboro maker Altria, which has a 27-piece stake and three seats on its board. The Telegraph reported that AB InBebb already won over Altria before approaching SABMiller, saying it would prefer an offer in shares rather than cash to avoid a massive capital gains tax bill.
Meanwhile, AB InBev has a "put up or shut up" deadline of October 14, by when it must make a formal offer or walk away from the deal for six months, This Is Money noted.
Since AB InBev has more than 200 brands under its name including Corona and Stella Artois, the Belgian brewing giant's offer for its British rival, SABMiller, could form a brewing colossus with more than 400 brands. It would also be the largest takeover and one of the priciest M&A deals ever in history. As of the moment, both companies have declined to comment on the report.
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