By Andy Young
SABMiller shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the brewer’s takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The vote clears the way for one of the biggest corporate mergers in history, meaning that around one in three beers sold around the world will come from the new mega-brewer.
AB InBev needed 75 per cent of SABMiller’s shareholders to vote in favour of the deal at a meeting in London on Monday and despite some speculation of shareholders turning against it, in the end 95.5 per cent voted in favour.
In the past after such large takeovers have seen name changes, but AB InBev’s Chief Executive Carlos Brito said the new entity would retain the Anheuser-Busch InBev name.
Commenting on the shareholder vote, Carlos Brito, CEO of AB InBev said: “We are pleased that our shareholders’ vote brings us one step closer to combining our companies, teams, strong heritage and passion for brewing. We are committed to driving long-term growth and creating value for all our stakeholders.”
In its efforts to secure the deal AB InBev has promised to sell numerous SABMiller brands, and that will now see Asahi takeover the Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands. In Australia the AB InBev brands, including Corona, Stella Artois and Beck’s, which are currently managed by Lion, will move to Carlton and United Breweries in October.
Further joint ventures in the United States and China will also be sold off as will SABMiller’s central and eastern European brands.