SABMiller up for grabs after failed Heineken deal

Heineken rejected the approach from SABMiller, saying the brewer intends to preserve its heritage and identity. Picture: Reuters

Shares in SABMiller closed up almost 10 per cent at 3,740p as market chatter buzzed that AB Inbev, the world’s largest brewing company, was rumoured to be arranging finance for a deal.

Sources said that AB Inbev was talking to banks about financing a possible $122 billion (£75bn) takeover bid for Heineken’s failed suitor. SABMiller, the maker of Grolsch and Peroni, was not available for comment.

Eddie Hargreaves, drinks analyst at broker Canaccord Genuity, said: “There’s strong talk that Anheuser-Busch InBev is lining up finance for a bid for SABMiller.

“I also think it is a sign of some desperation that SABMiller approached Heineken. They must have realised it was a long shot as the Heineken family’s majority holding is designed for the company to hold on to its independence.

“It is a device to maintain control. The fact that Heineken rejected the approach out of hand does not surprise me at all. The wording also had a look of finality about it.”

Heineken, known for its eponymous brand and Kronenbourg 1664, issued a statement on Sunday revealing the  bid approach but saying it was “non-actionable”.

It said: “The Heineken family has informed SABMiller, Heineken and Heineken Holding of its intention to preserve the heritage and identity of Heineken as an independent company.”

The founding family owns just more than 50 per cent of the beer maker via Heineken Holding. A further 12.5 per cent is owned by the Mexican brewing business, Femsa.

Heineken is worth about £27bn on the stock market compared to about £33bn for SABMiller.

Speculation about an AB Inbev move on SABMiller has been circulating for months, but analysts said the pre-emptive move on Heineken had definitely put the company, whose roots are in South Africa, “in play”. AB Inbev and SABMiller are both known for their aggressive merger strategies.

In 2002, the-then South African Breweries acquired the Miller Brewing Company (MBC), the second-biggest brewer in the United States. It bought Grolsch in 2007, and a year later combined MBC with the US business of Molson Coors to create its MillerCoors joint venture.

In 2011 SABMiller acquired the Foster’s Group in Australia.

However, like other brewers, including Heineken, SABMiller has been struggling to grow in the mature beer markets of Europe and America, while revenues from emerging middle classes in developing markets such as Asia have been hit by weaker currencies in many of those countries.

Heineken, the biggest player in the western European market, has expanded fast in emerging markets such as Asia and Mexico.

In 2008, Heineken and Denmark’s Carlsberg ended centuries of independent brewing in Edinburgh when they achieved a successful £7.8bn break-up takeover bid for Scottish & Newcastle Breweries (S&N).

As a result, Heineken took over S&N’s UK brewing arm.