Largest shareholders agreed
AB InBev immediately confirmed it had already bid twice for SABMiller, first at 38 pounds (52 euro) per share, then at 40 pounds (54 euro) per share. SABMiller’s biggest shareholder, Altria Group, is in full support of AB InBev’s bid. Alongside its second largest shareholder, Santo, Altria Group controls 40 % of the group. Investment fund PIC, with a little over 3 % of shares, currently does not see the need for an acquisition.
The deal between both groups would be mostly in shares and the new company would represent about half of the entire beer industry’s profit and a third of its volume. However, SABMiller’s board of directors has formally declined AB InBev’s 92 billion euro acquisition bid. The company feels the bid is “substantially” beneath SABMiller’s worth.
