With South African roots and now based in London, SABMiller has been bought out by AB Inbev in a £71 billion deal. It is said to be one of the largest global corporate takeovers.

The Miller, Coors, and Peroni brands will join Budweiser, Bud Light, and Stella Artois of AB InBev by mid-2016. The newly merged company will be called Newco, and it becomes one of the largest global consumer beer brand companies, selling one-third of the world’s beer!

As part of the deal SABMiller will sell its share in the American MillerCoors, to meet competition guidelines.

The benefit of the merger is that it ‘provide more choices for beer drinkers, including global and local brands, in new and existing markets around the world’.   The deal will allow AB InBev to grow its business in emerging markets in Asia, Central America, South America, and in Africa.

The merged company will dominate in Australasia, with 40% market share, as well as dominate Africa and the Middle East with a 41% market share. In Latin America it will dominate with a 61% market share, and in North America with a 45% share of the beer market.

Source: The Drinks Business