GOLIATH: Anheuser-Busch now controls the majority of the beers Americans drink

As part of the deal, AB Inbev said it would sell SABMiller’s 58 per cent stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors in a deal valued at $US12 billion in cash, reflecting an effort to appease regulators concerned about the combined giant’s size.

“The boards of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of SABMiller by AB InBev”, the pair said.

“AB InBev, based here in Belgium, already is the biggest player in the US market, with brands such as Budweiser and Stella Artois”. While it will strengthen Molson Coors’ position in the USA beer market, the acquisition of the global Miller brand rights will also strengthen its worldwide beer portfolio thanks to powerful American branding, he added.

Around 35% of annual cost savings will come from making changes in this area, but AB InBev said it expects that “key members of SABMiller’s management team and employees would play a significant role in the combined group”. A previous version said the MillerCoors joint venture was 48 per cent owned by Molson Coors.

According to London-based market research firm Mintel, the merged company will be able to cater to 70% of the USA beer market and one-third of the global market share.

For 41,6 percent of stock, AB InBev is offering a partial-share alternative, essentially a combination of cash and unlisted stock, translating into a lower per-share price of £41,85.

A Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that 36.4 percent of women between the ages 18 and 34 lived with parents or relatives in 2014, the most since at least 1940, when 36.2 percent lived with family.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company that makes Budweiser, laid out plans Wednesday to clear regulatory hurdles in its bid to form a “truly global brewer” with chief rival SABMiller.

At this point, it’s unclear what the deal means for MillerCoors’ presence in Chicago, where it employs about 450 people at its headquarters at 250 S. Wacker Drive.

The takeover is expected to be a few time completed next year.

“If anything, there will be more of this craft style innovation as this megabrewer tries to replicate what the craft brewers have done”, he said. That missed analysts’ $6.1 billion average projection and marks the steepest decline since the second quarter of 2010.