Johannesburg - Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev agreed to sell SABMiller’s stake in local drinks maker, Distell Group, over a shorter time period than the three years recommended by the country’s antitrust authority, an attempt to smooth the path toward regulatory approval for the brewing industry’s biggest-ever deal.
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“What was agreed was a shorter time period to effect the divestment,” Frank Snyckers, an advocate for AB InBev and SABMiller, said yesterday. Further details of the deal with Distell were confidential.
Distell had earlier told the Competition Tribunal that a three-year time frame to offload the 26 percent stake would create uncertainty for the company. It would be in the best interest of Distell and the public if AB InBev disposed of the stake “reasonably quickly”, said the company’s lawyer, Jeremy Gauntlett.
SABMiller is the second-largest shareholder in the maker of Amarula liquor and Klipdrift brandy, behind Remgro, which owns 53 percent. Distell shares gained 1.7 percent to close at R158.75 yesterday.
BLOOMBERG