13th Oct 2015 06:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller on Tuesday said they have agreed a GBP71.28 billion deal over a possible merger, with a takeover set to create a global beer giant.
AB InBev lifted its offer to GBP44 per share, and its smaller rival said it will be willing to recommend a bid at that price to its shareholders. The previous offer valued SABMiller at GBP43.50 per share.
In the event of an offer, AB InBev would agree to a "best efforts" commitment to secure regulatory approvals required for the deal to go through. A USD3 billion break fee would be paid to SABMiller in the event that an agreed deal fell through due to a failure to obtain regulatory clearances or the approval of AB InBev shareholders.
In addition, SABMiller shareholders will be entitled to any dividends declared or paid in the period to September 30 or March 31 ahead of completion of a possible deal. Dividends could amount to a maximum of USD1.22 per share over the two periods.
A partial share alternative would be put in place for about 41% of SABMiller's shares. It consists of 0.483969 unlisted shares and GBP3.7788 in cash for each SABMiller share, equivalent to GBP39.03 per share.
The all-cash offer represents a premium of about 50% to SABMiller's closing price of GBP29.34 on September 14, before AB InBev's first approach.
No formal offer has been made. AB InBev now has until 1700 BST on October 28 to decide whether to make an firm offer or walk away.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
SAB.L