15 billion euro for Corona
AB InBev, which currently owns half of Grupo
Modelo, is offering 9.15 dollar per share of Modelo. The offer will expire on
31 May and values the takeover at 15 billion euro.
The Belgian group will have to sell
all American activities of Grupo Modelo, as AB InBev is already market
leader in the United States with Budweiser. AB InBev had to make this
concession to the American competition watchdog, which had protested against
the takeover because AB InBev already holds half of the American market.
This will still be more than enough for the
world’s largest brewer, who will immediately play a crucial role in Mexico, an
absolute growth market for beer, and who is expecting synergies worth a billion
dollar from the get-go.
Next step: Pepsi & co?
In the meantime there is a lot of buzz involving
a possible deal between AB InBev and PepsiCo. It is common knowledge both
companies have been flirting for years. At the moment AB InBev handles the lion’s
share of the distribution of PepsiCo outside of the United States and it also
bottles for the American soft drinks giant. Soft drinks activities already
represent a tenth of the company turnover.
As American billionaire Nelson Peltz, major shareholder of
PepsiCo and of the company formerly known as Kraft, is pushing towards a merger between both – creating an absolute world leader in snacks – the soft drinks department would be
only have a small part to play at the new group. A takeover by AB InBev might therefore be more appealing for that department.
