News Digest

SABMiller rejects £68bn takeover bid to create global brewing powerhouse

SABMiller has rejected the latest bid for the company by the world’s largest brewer, saying it is opportunistic, highly conditional and substantially undervalues its business. The FTSE-100 company reacted dismissively hours after Anheuser-Busch InBev, which makes Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, confirmed it had made a third bid, representing an all-cash offer of 42.15p-per-share. SAB's board voted to reject the offer, which valued it at £68.1bn, saying some shareholders would achieve £2 less a share.

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.

SAB chairman Jan du Plessis

The proposed merger would create the world’s biggest beer maker worth more than £180bn. On Wednesday, InBev raised its offer for SAB to £42.15 per share, having previously bid £38 and £40. SAB’s largest shareholder, Altria Group, backed the deal, saying SABMiller, which owns the Carling, Coors and Bulmer brands, should “engage promptly and constructively with AB InBev to agree on the terms of a recommended offer”. But SAB’s chairman, Jan du Plessis, added: “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 is very substantially undervaluing SABMiller.”