SABMiller has quietly indicated to Belgium’s InBev that it would formally consider a bid pitched at £15.00 a share or more, valuing the business at £22.6bn, FT Alphaville has learned.
The London-listed brewer has told representatives of InBev, which is trying to lead a final round of global consolidation in the drinks industry, that it would prefer a so-called merger of equals under a British ‘top-co’ structure, creating a £45bn brewing giant with market-leading positions in 35 countries.
InBev, on the other hand, according to sources with a close knowledge of its thinking, favours a straightforward takeover, retaining its Belgium-based status and keeping the complex structure of shareholder agreements between its Brazilian managers and aristocratic Belgian founding families in place.
Any transaction with SABMiller is being considered as a distinct “Plan B” to a preferred takeover of Anheuser Busch in the US. In any case, SAB has told InBev that it is unable to engage in meaningful discussions until it completes its US beer joint venture with Molson Coors in the US.
The indicated base negotiation price of £15.00 was cited before news of InBev’s plans was revealed here on Friday.
Alongside “Project Aluminum,” the Anheuser takeover plan, InBev’s advisers, lead by Lazards and Sullivan & Cromwell, have dubbed the SAB alternative “Project Barium.” While SAB and InBev are seen as a perfect fit in terms of management skill and entrepreneurial zeal, the potential synergies, put at around $800m annually, are significantly below the $1.4bn being privately forecast in an Anheuser takeover.
Shares in SAB, which jumped 7 per cent to £13.09 on Tuesday, opened float on Wednesday.
Related links:
InBev seeks to woo Anheuser - FT
InBev weighs its options - FT analysis
Barium - Wikipedia definition
