Faced with the rapid rise in popularity of craft beers and weakening sales in the United States and Europe, Anheuser Busch InBev – the world’s biggest beer maker – has clinched a deal to take over its nearest rival, SABMiller.
SABMiller has accepted, in principle, a takeover bid worth $106 billion from Anheuser-Busch InBev. The deal will result in a combined business which will control close to one third of the global beer market.
Belgium-based AB InBev, already the world’s biggest brewer, fields the Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona and Beck’s brand; while London-based SABMiller’s 200 plus brands include Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni, and Milwaukee’s Best.
It took five attempts for AB InBev to close the deal, but the scale of it is likely to raise questions from competition regulators, particularly in the United States and China. Analysts expect the Miller stable of beers in the United States to be sold in the event of a deal.
AB InBev employs 155,000 people in 25 countries, while SABMiller employs 69,000 people in 83 countries.
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