After a series of breathtaking raises, the British SabMiller has announced that it has accepted the takeover offer from the leader of the sector, the Belgian-Brazilian group AB InBev, for over 90 billion euros. It is one of the major acquisition operations in history. The British group has announced that its board has reached an agreement with AB InBev, according to which the latter will acquire the shares for 44 pounds, valuing the market capitalization of SabMiller at 70 billion pounds.
SabMiller climbs 8,8% on the London Stock Exchange. He is the owner of brands such as Peroni, Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell. Ab Inbev owns over 200 beer brands (including Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois) and managed to convince the English group's board of directors to accept the £44 offer. AB InBev started with £38, then raised to £40, then raised to £42,15 and yesterday to £43,5 to finish at a value that represents a premium of around 50% compared to SabMiller's closing price on 14 September. before the takeover rumors spread.
After years of speculation, the deal has been accelerated by the impact of the economic slowdown in emerging markets, especially China and Brazil. The mega-merger will give life to a group with a 'monstrel' capitalization of over 250 billion euros which will operate in all the main beer markets and will open the doors of Africa to the Belgian group. The two largest shareholders of SabMiller, Altria Group and Bevco (which hold 41% of the capital) will be able to choose between the cash offer or a mixed offer in cash and shares: for each share 0,48 AB InBev shares and £3,78 cash.
