SABMiller CEO Alan Clark will get a R1.2-billion (£55m) payout when Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev takes over the company, the Financial Times (FT) revealed on Tuesday.

Crunching the numbers from SABMiller’s annual report released on Monday, the UK-based finance publication said while Clark’s remuneration fell 17% to £5.9-million (R128.7-million) in 2016, the share awards due to him overshadow this pay.

The R1.6-trillion takeover deal, which will be debated at South Africa’s Competition Tribunal from Wednesday, will likely be completed by around September, analysts told the FT.

“At that point, Mr Clark — who became chief executive just over three years ago — stands to reap the benefit of share awards during his 26 years of employment at SABMiller, giving him a £55-million payout in vesting shares and options,” the FT said.

This amount is massive compared to the R300-million the Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) claimed Clark would get, when they told Fin24 they would take the matter of share options to the Constitutional Court.

Fawu wants AB InBev and SABMiller to pay R1.5-billion – just R300-million more than Clark will receive – to all its members as a once-off payment.

Fawu told Fin24 that their issue with SABMiller’s Zenzele Employee Share Ownership Programme scheme should be juxtaposed by the fact that the 1 700 senior managers and executives of SABMiller stand to make $2.1-billion in share options and bonuses, including about R300-million for Clark. Clearly this amount is much larger.

“If the scheme does not come to an end, one class of shareholders will be discriminated (against),” Fawu general secretary Katishi Masemola told Fin24 in June. “Black shareholders are not being treated the same as the other shareholders.”

Zenzele and Fawu will be making a submission at the tribunal this week.

Clark said in his final CEO’s report on Monday that “as this may be SABMiller’s final annual report, it is worth reflecting on what we have achieved”.

“The SABMiller story is a simply amazing achievement, and everyone who has been a part of it should feel immensely proud of the value they have helped to create,” he said.

“I am sure the next chapter will bring new opportunities for exceptional success.”