After weeks of tense negotiations and a very public standoff between the two companies, Anheuser-Busch InBev has finally managed to convince SABMiller PLC to accept their takeover bid of $104.2 billion dollars (approximately $68 per share), meaning they are poised to “dominate much of the world’s beer market.”1
Negotiations stretched over weeks between officers of InBev and SABMiller, as SABMiller’s key players doggedly insisted on getting the highest return for shareholders, as well as firm assurances that the merger wouldn’t trigger any regulatory violations.2 Annual revenue post-takeover is projected to be $64 billion.3 InBev and SABMiller are responsible for extremely popular macro-brews like Budweiser, Miller, Labatt Blue, Stella Artois, Corona, and numerous other variations on the aforementioned labels.4
The merger is expected to garner considerable regulatory scrutiny, as the combined corporations represent control of a third of the world’s beer supply.5 It’s also anticipated that the takeover will lead to a monopolistic “dominance in several markets worldwide.”6 The deal is expected to also open Anheuser-Busch to exposure in rapidly expanding developing markets, like Africa and Latin America.7 Analysts agree that it’s likely that the two companies will have to sell off assets in areas where they overlap, to appease regulators, specifically the “breakup or sale of SABMiller’s holdings in MillerCoors.”8
How AB InBev Won Over SABMiller, Wall Street Journal (Oct. 14, 2015, 9:33 AM), http://www.wsj.com/articles/sabmiller-ab-inbev-agree-on-deal-in-principle-1444717547. ↩
Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller to Join, New York Times (Oct. 13, 2015), http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/business/dealbook/anheuser-busch-inbev-sabmiller-beer-merger.html. ↩
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Eventually, the SABMiller-AB InBev Mega Beer Merger Will Matter to You, Business Insider (Oct. 16, 2015, 9:15 AM), http://www.businessinsider.com/sabmiller-ab-inbev-merger-impacts-on-your-life-2015-10. ↩
New York Times, supra note 2. ↩
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