Europe’s main stock markets climbed Wednesday, extending its winning streak to a fourth straight session, as shares of the world’s major brewers rise on a takeover battle for some of beer’s biggest brands, AFP reported.
The world’s biggest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev raised Wednesday its offer for British rival SABMiller to 68 billion pounds (92 billion euros, $103 billion), or 42.15 pounds per share, only to be told it was still too low to achieve one of the largest ever corporate takeovers.
The deal sought by Belgian-Brazilian AB InBev would create a global “megabrewer” that would bring together internationally famous brands such as the iconic US beer Budweiser and Stella Artois with Grolsch and Foster’s.
But the board of Britain’s SABMiller, which has already rejected two previous bids from its rival “unanimously rejected” the third offer as “substantially” too low.
A combined new group would be worth around 220 billion euros ($250 billion), and analysts think a fresh fourth offer is likely.
Jeremy Cunnington at Euromonitor International said that “AB InBev’s bid for SABMiller is the inevitable conclusion of over a decade of consolidation within the brewing industry.”
“We should not be surprised to see a slightly raised offer over the next week,” added Simon Davies of Canaccord Genuity in London in a note.
Source : Punch
