Beer giants looking to shed more brands

LONDON — Asahi Group Holdings of Japan has made a binding offer to buy the beer brands Peroni and Grolsch, as well as certain European operations of SABMiller, for $ 2.9 billion.

The deal, if consummated, would be the latest effort by Anheuser- Busch InBev to sell some parts of SABMiller as it seeks to persuade regulators to approve their nearly $ 103 billion merger.

SABMiller said Wednesday that the binding offer would apply to the brands and operations of Royal Dutch Grolsch, Birra Peroni, Miller Brands U. K., the Meantime Brewing Co. and SABMiller’s sales and marketing office in France. SABMiller bought Meantime in May. The deal would not include the rights for the Peroni and Grolsch brands in the United States; those rights belong to MillerCoors.

The combination of Anheuser- Busch InBev and SABMiller would create a beer industry giant with annual revenue of about $ 64 billion and would give Anheuser-Busch InBev, already the world’s largest brewer, a substantial operation in Africa, where it has little presence, and greater dominance in Latin America.

In hopes of appeasing regulators, SABMiller has already agreed to sell its 59 percent stake in MillerCoors in the United States to its joint venture partner Molson Coors Brewing for about $ 12 billion. That deal includes the global rights to the Miller brand and would make Molson Coors the second- largest brewer in the United States, behind Anheuser- Busch InBev.

Both the MillerCoors and Asahi transactions would be contingent on regulators signing off on the larger deal.

“We are pleased to have received this binding offer from Asahi on the Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands and businesses — iconic beer brands with long- standing heritage and leading positions in core markets,” Carlos Brito, the Anheuser- Busch InBev chief executive, said in a news release.

Anheuser- Busch InBev has agreed to a period of exclusivity with Asahi on these brands and businesses while employee information and consultation processes are undertaken as part of a potential sale.

In December, Anheus-erBusch InBev said it was exploring the sale of several of SABMiller’s premium brands in Europe, including Peroni and Grolsch, in the hope of easing regulatory concerns.

Anheuser- Busch InBev and SABMiller reached an agreement in principle on Oct. 13 to merge and completed their negotiations in November, with SABMiller’s board recommending that shareholders accept the deal.

In that deal, Anheuser-Busch InBev is offering to pay 44 pounds, or about $ 63.51, per share in cash for SABMiller.

Anheuser- Busch InBev has tackled similar regulatory issues before.

It was forced to restructure its $ 20.1 billion takeover of Grupo Modelo of Mexico in 2013 after the Justice Department sued to block the deal.

Among the concessions in that deal, Anheuse-rBusch InBev agreed to sell the rights to Corona beer and other Grupo Modelo brands in the United States to Constellation Brands, one of the world’s largest wine companies, for $ 2.9 billion.