Key SABMiller investor rejects new £79bn offer
The biggest takeover in British corporate history was dealt a blow after a top investor in brewer SABMiller spurned a sweetened £79bn offer from rival Anheuser-Busch InBev. AB InBev sought to quell a revolt among SAB shareholders by hiking its all-cash offer, but Aberdeen Asset Management rejected the improved offer as still “unacceptable”.
THE biggest takeover in British corporate history has been dealt a major blow after a top investor in FTSE 100 brewer SABMiller spurned a sweetened £79bn offer from rival AnheuserBusch InBev.
Stella Artois-owner AB InBev, led by pugnacious boss Carlos Brito, yesterday sought to quell a mounting revolt among SAB shareholders about the takeover by unexpectedly hiking its all-cash offer by £1 to £45 a share and declaring it “final”. Aberdeen Asset Management swiftly rejected the improved offer as still “unacceptable”.
Jan du Plessis, SAB’s chairman, will now canvass other shareholders’ reaction to the new offer before deciding how to proceed. The dramatic move by Mr Brito to make AB InBev’s offer final ratchets up the pressure on Mr du Plessis because under takeover rules the offer cannot be lifted. SAB has enlisted the help of Centerview Partners, a major player in mergers and acquisitions.
“It’s high stakes poker,” said Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Bernstein.
Aberdeen and a host of activist hedge funds that hold SAB stakes, including Elliott Capital Advisors and The Children’s Investment Fund, have been pushing SAB to seek a better deal from AB InBev after sterling’s plunge following the Brexit vote meant the terms of the takeover increasingly favour SAB’s two biggest investors over the rest.
It has emerged that Mr du Plessis called AB InBev chairman Olivier Goudet last Friday to discuss how currency movements had affected the takeover, which was first agreed in October. A day earlier, investors voiced their frustration at SAB’s annual meeting. In an attempt to gain the upper-hand, AB InBev then informed SAB on Monday evening it was hiking its offer and making it final, a surprise move that the two chairmen had not discussed.
At the centre of the investor revolt is the two-part nature of the bid, designed to cut the tax liabilities of tobacco firm Altria and Colombia’s Santo Domingo family. The pair together own 40pc of SAB and are receiving a mixture of unlisted AB InBev stock and a small amount of cash. While this offer is open to all SAB investors, the unlisted stock is unattractive to most other shareholders, who are expected to accept an allcash alternative.
Sterling’s recent drop sent the value of the stock offer surging above the cash offer, as AB InBev’s shares are euro-denominated. Even under AB InBev’s sweetened terms, the stock offer is valued at £51.14 a share.
Aberdeen said: “The revised deal remains unacceptable as it both undervalues the company and continues to favour SABMiller’s two major shareholders.” It argued Altria and the Santo Domingos should not be allowed to vote on the all-cash offer.
SAB shares ended at £44.10 yesterday, down 30p.