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AB InBev to sell stake in South Africa’s Distell to finalize merger deal

15 Dec 2016, 03:13 pm
Financial Nigeria
AB InBev to sell stake in South Africa’s Distell to finalize merger deal

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- Competition Tribunal of South Africa ruled earlier this year that AB InBev must dispose of SABMiller’s shareholding in Distell within three years.

Anheuser-Busch InBev's headquarters, Leuven, Belgium. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewing company, said today that it has agreed to sell its stake in Distell Group, a South African liquor company, as part a deal reached with Competition Tribunal of South Africa during AB InBev’s takeover of SABMiller.   

The Leuven, Belgium-based company said it will sell its 26.4 per cent stake in Distell Group to the Public Investment Corporation, South Africa’s state pension fund manager with over 2 trillion rand ($133 billion) in assets under management. The price of the sale was not disclosed, but Bloomberg estimates that the holding was worth 8.92 billion rand ($640 million), based on Wednesday’s closing price.

Earlier this year, the Competition Tribunal of South Africa granted a conditional approval to AB InBev’s $106 billion acquisition of SABMiller. The competition regulator ruled that AB InBev must dispose of SABMiller’s shareholding in Distell within three years, agree to keep South African jobs, and make a 1 billion rand ($63.60 million) investment in the country’s agriculture sector.

AB InBev said Distell’s other shareholders – Remgro Limited and Capevin Holdings Limited – decided not to exercise their pre-emptive rights to the SABMiller stake. The sale, however, remains subject to the approval of the competition regulator, the company said.

Established in 2008 through the merger of InBev and Anheuser-Busch, AB InBev has over 400 beer brands spread across 50 countries. In October this year, AB InBev completed its acquisition of SABMiller, giving the combined entity a total revenue of $65.7 billion in 2015.


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