Global beer industry shake up
By Canmadian Packaging staff
General Ab InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev MillerCoors LLC Molson Coors Brewing Company SABMiller plcAnheuser-Busch announces agreement with Molson Coors for complete divestiture of SABMiller's interest in MillerCoors.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has announced an agreement with Molson Coors Brewing Company regarding a complete divestiture of SABMiller plc’s interest in MillerCoors LLC, a joint venture in the U.S. and Puerto Rico between Molson Coors and SABMiller (the “MillerCoors Transaction”).
The total transaction is valued at US12-billion and is conditional on the completion of AB InBev’s previously announced acquisition of SABMiller. The SABMiller Transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016, subject to satisfying the relevant regulatory clearances.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement, Molson Coors will acquire SABMiller’s 50 percent voting interest and 58 percent economic interest in MillerCoors.
Upon completion of the transaction, MillerCoors will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Molson Coors, and Molson Coors will have full control of the operations and resulting economic benefits of MillerCoors.
Under the agreement, Molson Coors will acquire full ownership of the Miller brand portfolio outside of the U.S. and retain the rights to all of the brands currently in the MillerCoors portfolio for the U.S. market, including import brands such as Peroni and Pilsner Urquell.
The sale also includes the global Miller brand, currently sold in over 25 countries (including Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Romania, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom), as well as related trademarks and other intellectual property rights.
AB InBev chief executive officer Carlos Brito says, “Our combination with SABMiller is about creating the first truly global beer company and bringing more choices to beer drinkers in markets outside of the U.S. We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Molson Coors to divest SABMiller’s U.S. assets. We will continue to proactively address any regulatory concerns regarding our combination with SABMiller in other relevant markets.”
Molson Coors president and chief executive officer Mark Hunter says, “SABMiller has been an excellent partner for the past seven years and we are extremely proud of the organization that our teams have created. We have a deep passion for and understanding of the MillerCoors brands, strategy and culture and believe this transaction is the ideal outcome for this business. We look forward to continuing to provide our distributors, retailers and consumers with an extraordinary portfolio of brands.”
Both the MillerCoors Transaction and the SABMiller Transaction are conditional upon the receipt of, among other things, customary regulatory approvals.
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