Anheuser-Busch InBev NV agreed to
buy SABMiller Plc. for about 68 Million pounds, raising its bid after several
rejections to clinch a record industry deal that will bring one out of every
three bears sold worldwide under a single company.
The Budweiser maker will pay 44
pounds a share in cash for a majority of the shares in its nearest competitor.
Belgian-Brazilian group AB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois
lagers, struck a deal with the maker of Foster’s and Grolsch at the fifth time
of asking. The deal is in the top five mergers in corporate history and be the
largest takeover of a UK Company.
SABMiller two largest shareholders,
Altria Group Inc. and Bevco Ltd, can receive cash and stock valued at 39.03
pounds a share for their stakes, which account for 41% of the company. They won’t
be able to sell the shares for five years and will have the right to nominate
directors. After years of speculation, the deal has been hastened by the impact
of slowing economies in the emerging markets of China and Brazil.
SABMiller, the world largest
brewer, claimed the previous bids undervalued the company, upping the pressure,
ahead of regulatory deadline by which time its rival would have to make an
official offer or walk away for at least six months.
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