AB InBev’s offer now stands at 44 euro per share, 50 % above SABMiller’s share price immediately before the news broke about the acquisition plans. During this period, both companies will work on the terms and conditions of the takeover offer as well as the financing of the deal.
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SABMiller said in a statement Tuesday morning that the two companies had agreed “in principle” to a deal very similar to the one outlined last week, after ABI raised its offer one last time.
The terms of Tuesday’s deal is meanwhile higher than a fourth bid tabled by AB InBev on Monday that was worth about £43.50 a share.
SABMiller’s shares raced 8% higher, although the wider FTSE 100 Index was 44.1 points lower at 6326.2 as miners and commodity stocks once more fell into the red on fears over China’s economy.
If the merger deal is formally agreed, then the combined company will control a few 31 percent of beer sales around the globe.
The sheer size of the deal, however, is likely to invite resistance from regulators, notably in the USA and China, amid concerns that the merger could stifle competition and reduce consumer choice.
As profits dip in Americas, AB InBev intends to push into Africa, which is considered to be the emerging beer market and SABMiller has significant hold here.
The craft beer segment, which includes dozens of Wisconsin breweries, in 2014 accounted for 11% of US beer sales volume.
The merged company would likely be forced to sell off the MillerCoors brand in the US, which is a joint venture between SABMiller and Coors, industry experts suggest.
After years of pursuit, top global brewer AB InBev appears to have finally corralled leading rival SABMiller. AB InBev would add certain Latin American and Asian breweries to its already large presence and, crucially, enter Africa for the first time. “It will have enormous global market share, enormous pricing power”.
Since mid-September, Carlos Brito, the boss of the Budweiser owner, has been sparring with Jan du Plessis, the combative chairman of SAB, which owns Peroni and Grolsch.
Mr Stainer said AB InBev will be able to offer deals that will leave less room for smaller brewers in both pubs and supermarkets.
SABMiller employs 69,000 people in 83 countries. A-B InBev, which is based in Belgium, has roughly 155,000 workers around the world.
The world’s biggest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has agreed to buy its main rival SABMiller for £68 billion ($104 billion).
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“Any pact that would cause a single company to produce a third of the world’s beer is going to come under intense, potentially deal-ending, scrutiny from regulators”, he said. A year ago it tried to purchase Heineken, in what was perceived as an attempt to deter AB InBev.
