The beer giant AB Inbev in Leuven is taking over its South African competitor SABMiller. It is one of the largest company takeovers ever. The merger of the numbers 1 and 2 is by far creating the largest brewer in the world.
After the takeover, AB Inbev will be responsible for a third of all beer sold worldwide and half of the profits in the industry. Together the companies have an annual production of approximately 740 million hectolitres beer and employ almost a quarter million people.
"We are becoming the world's first global brewer", CEO Carlos Brito says. AB Inbev brews, for example, Stella Artois, Corona, Jupiler, Budweiser, Beck's and Hoegaarden, SABMiller's portfolio includes Grolsch, Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Foster's. After the merger, AB Inbev will brew more than 220 different beers worldwide. Even though the current number three, Heineken, might move up a place, the gap between the company and the market leader will become much larger.
It is the biggest deal an originally Belgian group has ever made. It is also the biggest overseas deal ever and is one of the six largest global company takeovers. AB Inbev plans to keep its registered office in Leuven after the takeover. "It is our expectation that this new company will be formed under Belgian law and that the registered office will be established in Belgium", AB Inbev spokesperson Kathleen Van Boxelaer explains. "Our roots have been in Belgium for centuries and the country will always remain an important part of our identity and our heritage."
