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Beer brewer SABMiller‘s board has advised its shareholders to accept AB InBev’s increased bid. Only last week, it seemed the merger was on the verge of being cancelled.
Largest shareholders already agreed
AB InBev decided to increase its takeover bid from 44 to 45 pounds per share, to compensate SABMiller’s shareholders for the weakened British pound, fallout from the Brexit.
Several shareholders complained about the minimal increase and felt they deserved more. The merger talks were also halted until the board could reach a decision on the increased bid.
SABMiller’s board has now approved the increased bid, which means nothing now stands in the way of the merger, although it remains to be seen whether every shareholder will actually accept the bid. The two largest shareholders, Altria and the Santo Domingo family, have both already confirmed they would accept the bid.
Small group can block merger
The board will ask the judge that looks over the vote’s modalities, to consider both Altria and Santo Domingo as a separate category of shareholders, to ban them from voting on the merger.
Together, these shareholders own 40 % of shares and if they are not included in the vote, only 15 % of the remaining shareholders has to oppose the merger to block everything.
