SABMiller ‘pauses AB InBev integration’: reports
On Tuesday, AB InBev revised the terms of its offer for SABMiller, offering £45 in cash per share, up from the original £44 per share set out in November 2015.
The offer was revised after Britain’s vote to leave the EU resulted in a fall in the pound, reducing the attractiveness of the November offer for SABMiller shareholders.
SABMiller is now understood to be considering the new takeover offer.
SABMiller memo: ‘all meetings postponed until further notice’
A company memo from SABMiller’s chief executive Alan Clark (published on the Financial Times’ Alphaville blog) told employees: “The Board needs to consider the Revised Offer taking into account all facts and circumstances. The convergence planning workstreams are being paused pending the Board’s consideration of the Revised Offer.
“This means there should be no contact with AB InBev with immediate effect, and all meetings and calls will be postponed until further notice.”
This suspension of contact includes communications with Asahi (set to acquire SABMiller’s Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands) and Molson Coors (set to acquire SABMiller’s stake in MillerCoors), as well as advisers and consultants working on the transactions.
AB InBev and SABMiller declined to comment.
Megabrew: timeline
11 November 2015: AB InBev and SABMiller formalize the terms of AB InBev’s £71bn / $107bn offer for SABMiller (currency conversion using the exchange rate of the time).
24 June 2016: Brexit: Following the EU referendum on the 23 June, the UK’s decision to leave the EU is announced.
20 July 2016: US approval for the deal is announced, adding to approvals in the EU, South Africa and a number of other jurisdictions.
26 July 2016: AB InBev raises its offer for SABMiller, after Brexit results in a fall in the pound. This now values SABMiller at around £79bn ($103.4bn).
27 July 2016: Company memo, telling SABMiller employees to postpone all meetings and calls in relation to the deal, is published in the press.
