AB InBev is taking back full control of its American can factories. The Belgian beer giant sold half of the factories during the coronavirus crisis, but even then hoped to reverse the deal later.
Pressure off
The buyback stems from agreements made by the brewery giant in December 2020. In the midst of the Covid crisis, the company sold almost half of its American can factories to investment fund Apollo, but at the same time secured a buyback right after five years. That moment has now arrived: AB InBev is paying Apollo $3 billion (around €2.55 billion) for the 49.9% minority stake.
At the end of 2020, AB InBev was urgently seeking liquidity to ease its debt burden. At the time, the brewer was carrying a net debt of $87 billion (€74 billion), mainly as a result of the largely loan-financed acquisition of SABMiller in 2015. The pandemic caused the debt ratio to rise to 4.9 times gross operating profit (EBITDA), a level that unsettled investors and analysts.
Five years later, the balance sheet looks a lot healthier. At the end of June 2025, net debt stood at $68 billion (€58 billion), representing 3.3 times EBITDA. Although CEO Michel Doukeris wants to see the debt ratio fall below twice the gross operating profit, the pressure is now off. More importantly, AB InBev is regaining full control over a strategic link in its US production chain.
