SABMiller rejects $100B bid to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev

“We continued to drive strong growth in Africa and Latin America, applying our deep local expertise to markets with favourable long term structural growth dynamics”, SABMiller Chief Executive Alan Clark said.

SABMiller announced last month that AB InBev, which makes Budweiser and Stella Artois, had approached it regarding a takeover.

SAB said group revenue, excluding currency effects, rose 6 percent in its second quarter, which ended on Sept 30, while volumes rose 2 percent.

Lager drinkers in Africa and Latin America have helped takeover target SABMiller (LON:SAB) to serve up faster second quarter growth.

Shares fell 1.7% in early trading as the maker of Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell and Grolsch said net producer revenue-a metric that strips out excise and similar taxes-fell 9% in the second quarter amid currency headwinds.

Belgium-based AB InBev – the world’s biggest beer firm – has just over a week to go to make a formal bid for SABMiller or walk away under United Kingdom takeover rules. A deal at 45 pounds per share would value SABMiller at about 73 billion pounds, the report said.

The proposal made last week was worth slightly over £40 a share, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter.

KMOX reported the story on September 16, of SABMiller being open to a potential buyout offer from AB InBev.

Analysts pointed out that was more the language used by a company defending an unwanted takeover bid than a mere trading update.

If AB InBev clinched the deal, it would rank in the top 10 takeovers in global corporate history.

“Clearly a deal of this size has its complications and execution risk but we believe these can be managed and overcome”, he said. But, be aware that, much as we are in the eye of the storm on an AB InBev purchase of SAB, all this chatter will be serving as a distraction for the pair, irrespective of their “business as usual” protestations.

SABMiller has Coors, Foster’s, Miller and Bulmers cider. The move is being seen by analysts as an attempt to force AB InBev into making a better offer.

SAB attempted to acquire Heineken a year ago but its advances were rebuffed.