10th Apr 2008 07:01
SABMiller PLC10 April 2008 SABMiller and Molson Coors name Tim Wolf Chief Integration Officer and Gavin Hattersley Chief Financial Officer of MillerCoors Joint Venture Highly Seasoned Executives will Play Critical Roles in Launch of MillerCoors Joint Venture ______________________________________________ 9 April 2008 (London and Denver) -- SABMiller plc (SAB.L) and Molson CoorsBrewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX) today named two executives to key positions inthe MillerCoors joint venture, effective upon the closing of the transaction.Tim Wolf was named Chief Integration Officer-designate and Gavin Hattersley wasappointed Chief Financial Officer-designate of the prospective U.S. jointventure announced by SABMiller and Molson Coors on 9 October 2007. As previously announced, Leo Kiely, current CEO of Molson Coors, will be the CEOof the joint venture, and Tom Long, current CEO of Miller, will serve asPresident and Chief Commercial Officer. Leo Kiely, Chief Executive of Molson Coors, said, "This is a very exciting timefor both Coors and Miller and I am delighted that Gavin and Tim will be joiningme at MillerCoors as we work to provide our consumers and distributors withgreater choice, product availability and increased innovation. Both Tim andGavin are seasoned industry leaders with extensive backgrounds in corporatefinancial management and proven success in delivering results." "We are cooperating fully with regulators in the antitrust clearance process andcontinue to prepare for the transaction to close by mid-2008, followingregulatory clearance. We felt it was critical to designate the CFO and CIO rolesnow in order to facilitate the planning process and allow us to hit the groundrunning upon close." "As the new entity's Chief Financial Officer, Gavin Hattersley will beresponsible for establishing strong financial management and commercialdisciplines for the joint venture and for reporting financial performance to thetwo shareholders," said Kiely. "He is a respected financial leader with deepexpertise in the beer business and has a proven track record of deliveringsynergies. Throughout his career he has built a reputation for his leadership,integrity and business acumen. In the industry, he's been widely recognized as asource of strength at Miller over the last five years and I look forward toworking closely with him." Mr. Hattersley has served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Miller BrewingCompany since 2002. Prior to that role, Mr. Hattersley held various positions atSAB Limited in Johannesburg, South Africa, including chief financial officerwith responsibility for the financial aspects of all breweries and sales,distribution finances, credit management and finance re-engineering. Prior tojoining SAB Limited in 1997, Mr. Hattersley held various financial positions atBarloworld Limited. "Tim Wolf will lead the integration process and the disciplined delivery of the$500 million integration synergy goal," said Kiely. "He has an outstanding trackrecord in achieving and exceeding synergy goals at Molson Coors, as well asgenerating significant value for shareholders. During his more than thirteenyears at Coors and Molson Coors, Tim and our team have driven a 16-fold increasein the value of the company. His accomplishments have built the strongreputation and credibility our company enjoys with investors today. As a leader,he is passionate about the beer business and the people who make it happenday-to-day." Mr. Wolf has served as Chief Financial Officer of Molson Coors since the 2005merger of Molson Inc. and the Adolph Coors Company. Prior to 2005, Mr. Wolfserved ten years as Chief Financial Officer for the Adolph Coors Company andCoors Brewing Company. Before joining Coors, Mr. Wolf spent 16 years in varioussenior planning, strategy and control positions at PepsiCo and The Walt DisneyCompany. He is a member of the Xcel Energy Board of Directors. The closing of the joint venture transaction is subject to obtaining clearancefrom U.S. competition authorities, certain other regulatory clearances and anyrequired third-party consents. The Miller business and the Coors business willcontinue to be conducted separately and in the ordinary course until completionof the transaction. Overview of SABMiller SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests ordistribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. The group'sbrands include premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft, PeroniNastro Azzurro, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range ofmarket leading local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of thelargest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. In the year ended 31 March2007, the group reported $3,154 million adjusted pre-tax profit and revenue of$18,620 million. SABMiller plc is listed on the London and Johannesburg stockexchanges. For more information on SABMiller plc, visit the company's website:www.sabmiller.com. Overview of Molson Coors Molson Coors Brewing Company is one of the world's largest brewers. It brews,markets and sells a portfolio of leading premium quality brands such as CoorsLight, Molson Canadian, Molson Dry, Carling, Coors, and Keystone Light. Itoperates in Canada, through Molson Canada; in the US, through Coors BrewingCompany; in the UK and Europe, through Coors Brewers Limited. For moreinformation on Molson Coors Brewing Company, visit the company's Web site, http://www.molsoncoors.com. Overview of Miller Miller produces, markets and sells the Miller portfolio of brands in the U.S.The Miller business to be contributed to the joint venture (the "MillerBusiness") does not include the sales of Miller brands outside the U.S., butdoes include the sale of other SABMiller brands in the U.S. Overview of Coors Coors produces, markets and sells the Coors portfolio of brands in the U.S. andPuerto Rico, which is managed as an integral part of the U.S. business, and alsoholds 50% interests in the Rocky Mountain Metal Corporation and Rocky MountainBottle Corporation joint ventures. The Coors business to be contributed to thejoint venture (the "Coors Business") will not include the sales of Coors brandsoutside the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The business to be contributed does includethe sale of other Molson Coors brands in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. This announcement is for information only and does not constitute an offer or aninvitation to acquire or dispose of any securities or investment advice or aninducement to enter into investment activity. This announcement does notconstitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy oracquire the securities of SABMiller or Molson Coors (the "Companies") in anyjurisdiction. The distribution of this announcement may be restricted by law. Persons intowhose possession this announcement comes are required by the Companies to informthemselves about and to observe any such restrictions. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning ofthe U.S. federal securities laws, and language indicating trends, suchas "anticipated" and "expected". It also includes financial information, ofwhich, as of the date of this press release, the Companies' independent auditorshave not completed their review. Although the Companies believe that theassumptions upon which their respective financial information andtheir respective forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, they cangive no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Importantfactors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companies'projections and expectations are disclosed in Molson Coors' filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission and in SABMiller's annual report and accountsfor the year ended 31 March 2007 and in other documents which are available onSABMiller's website at www.sabmiller.com. These factors include, among others,changes in consumer preferences and product trends; price discounting by majorcompetitors; failure to realize anticipated results from synergy initiatives; failure to obtain regulatory consents or other third party approvals; andincreases in costs generally. All forward-looking statements in this pressrelease are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by referenceto the underlying assumptions. Neither SABMiller nor Molson Coors undertakes toupdate forward-looking statements relating to their respective businesses,whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. NeitherSABMiller nor Molson Coors accepts any responsibility for any financialinformation contained in this press release relating to the business oroperations or results or financial condition of the other or their respectivegroups. # # # Contacts For further information, please contact: SABMiller / Miller Tel: +44 20 7659 0100/ 414 931-6313Isabel Unsworth Interim Business Media Relations Manager Tel: +44 20 7659 0131 Molson Coors / CoorsKabira Hatland Media Relations, Molson Coors Tel: 303 277-2555 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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