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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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SABMiller Board Rejects |$104 Billion InBev Offer

(CN) - SABMiller, the world's second largest brewer, rejected a $104 billion takeover offer from its larger rival, Anheuser-Busch InBev, on Monday, dismissing it as not close to a good deal.

The offer was the third A-B InBev made to SABMiller in recent days, but the first to be made public.

The latest cash offer was $64.57 per share for the UK-based company; up from an initial $58.21 per share offer, while was later raised to $61.27 per share.

Despite the increases, the SABMiller board voted unanimously to reject the offer out of hand.

"It still very substantially undervalues SABMiller, its unique and unmatched footprint, and its standalone prospects," the company said in a statement.

A-B InBev CEO Carlos Brito told reporters during a conference call that his company, the world's largest brewing company, decided to go public with its latest offer after SABMiller refused to negotiate.

Brito said that by going public with the offer, it gives shareholders the opportunity to consider the proposal.

If the takeover were to come to pass, it would create a mega-brewer that would control nearly a third of the world's beer sales.

Brito would not comment on whether A-B InBev would attempt a hostile takeover. UK's takeover rules require A-B InBev to make a formal proposal by Oct. 14.

Taking over SABMiller would be another in a growing list of recent acquisitions by A-B InBev. In 2013, A-B InBev paid $20.1 billion to buy the half of Grupo Modelo that it didn't own. In 2008, InBev bought A-B for $52 billion, the largest acquisition in beer industry history.

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