By close of play tomorrow (14th October) Anheuser-Busch InBev is expected to confirm its firm intention to pay around £68bn for SABMiller. The merger will create the world’s biggest beer company, responsible for 30% of the world’s beer production. In a statement the two companies said they had “reached agreement in principle on the key terms.” The SABMiller Board confirmed it would “be prepared unanimously to recommend the all-cash offer of £44.00 per SABMiller share to SABMiller shareholders.” AB InBev’s brands include Budweiser and Stella Artois and Corona, while SABMiller produces Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni, Grolsch and Blue Moon.
The all-cash offer represents a premium of approximately 50% to SABMiller’s closing share price of £29.34 on 14 September 2015 (being the last business day prior to renewed speculation of an approach from AB InBev).
