South Africa needs more time to research AB InBev – SABMiller merger

The South African Competition Commission has decided to continue its investigation into the SABMiller – AB InBev merger. They had until today to reach a conclusion, but will not make that deadline.

African market share important for merger

The Competition Commission now says it needs more time to talk to the parties involved, in order to find solutions to particular issues, but refrained from stating which problems and how they could be solved. South African law allows investigations to be extended by two weeks at a time and one or two extensions are not unusual.

AB InBev accepts the extension, but it hopes South Africa will not be an obstacle that slows down the overall merger proceedings, as both AB InBev and SABMiller hope to finalize the deal in the second half of 2016.

Both beer brewers will not only need approval in South Africa, but also in every other market, like Europe and the United States. One of the prime reasons for AB InBev to initiate the deal was to quickly gain a major foothold in Africa, as it is one of the few regions that is expected to grow a lot over the next few years.