Photo by: Bloomberg
The board of SABMiller has unanimously rejected a revised merger offer by global brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) in which it valued the British–South African multinational brewing and beverage company at £42.15 a share, with a partial share alternative available for about 41% of the SABMiller shares.
“The proposal . . . still substantially undervalues SABMiller, its unique and unmatched footprint and its standalone prospects,” the board said following a meeting on Wednesday.
If accepted, the deal would have seen the formation of a global beer conglomerate with yearly revenues of $64-billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $24-billion.
The latest offer followed two prior written proposals to SABMiller that had been rejected, the first of which proposed £38 a share in cash and the second £40 a share in cash.
“SABMiller is the crown jewel of the global brewing industry, uniquely positioned to continue to generate decades of standalone future volume and value growth for all SABMiller shareholders from highly attractive markets.
“AB InBev needs SABMiller, but has made opportunistic and highly conditional proposals, elements of which have been deliberately designed to be unattractive to many of our shareholders. AB InBev is substantially undervaluing SABMiller,” chairperson Jan du Plessis said earlier on Wednesday.
AB InBev had said earlier on Wednesday that it believed the revised proposal was highly attractive to SABMiller shareholders and provided a compelling opportunity for them.
It had argued that the merger would result in a “truly global brewer” that would take its place as one of the world’s leading consumer products companies.
“Given the largely complementary geographical footprints and brand portfolios of AB InBev and SABMiller, the combined group would have operations in virtually every major beer market, including key emerging regions with strong growth prospects, such as Africa, Asia and Central and South America,” it stated.
“By bringing together our rich heritage, brands and people, we would provide more opportunities for consumers to taste and enjoy the world’s best beers. Put simply, we believe we can achieve more together than each of us could separately, bringing more beers to more people and enhancing value for all of our stakeholders,” said AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito.
The global beermaker further argued that a combination of AB InBev and SABMiller would generate significant growth opportunities from marketing the companies’ combined brand portfolio and would provide more choices for beer drinkers in new and existing markets around the world.
“In addition, bringing together the capabilities of both companies would enable further innovations to introduce exciting new products for our consumers around the globe,” he held.