Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, has unilaterally raised its offer for rival SABMiller to £79bn to quash an investor rebellion that threatened to disrupt the third-biggest deal in corporate history.
The maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois beers decided at a board meeting on Monday to boost its takeover offer, in order to stem growing pressure from some SABMiller shareholders to revise the terms following a steep drop in the value of sterling.
AB InBev said yesterday that each SABMiller investor could choose between £45 a share in cash or a mostly stock alternative now worth £51.14, which will not be tradeable for five years. The new terms represent an increase of £1 a share on the cash offer and an increase of about 88p a share on the stock alternative in a deal to create the world’s dominant brewer by market share. AB InBev declared its revised offer “final”, meaning that it will not be able to increase it again.