EU Regulators Clear $100-Billion-Plus Beer Deal
The world`s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev gained EU antitrust approval on Tuesday for its $100-billion-plus acquisition of SABMiller on condition it sell almost the whole of SABMiller`s beer business in Europe.
Reuters was the first to report that AB InBev`s concessions to sell substantial assets would secure the EU green light for one of the largest corporate takeovers ever.
AB InBev has already agreed to sell SABMiller`s Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime beer brands to Japan`s Asahi Group Holdings Ltd and to divest eastern European assets, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The takeover will give it a third of the global beer market, selling twice as much beer as its nearest rival Heineken .
The European Commission said Europeans bought around €125-billion ($139-billion) worth of beer every year so even a relatively small increase would cause considerable harm to consumers.
`It was therefore very important that AB InBev`s takeover of SABMiller did not reduce competition on European beer markets,` EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The deal still needs to be approved by authorities in the United States and China. Australia and South Africa have already given their blessing.
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