AB InBev-SABMiller deal wins antitrust nod

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV won US antitrust approval for its takeover of SABMiller Plc, after the maker of Budweiser agreed to give up ownership of the Miller brand and open the door to greater competition from craft beers.

AB InBev will sell SABMiller's stake in MillerCoors LLC, separating the two brands, and refrain from practices that restrict distribution of smaller rival brews, thus protecting the ability of craft and import beers to compete, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday. The settlement will prevent any increase in concentration in the US beer industry, according to the statement.

"The two largest US brewers－ABI and MillerCoors－will now remain independent competitors after the deal," Sonia Pfaffenroth, a deputy assistant attorney general at the antitrust division, said in the statement.

Distributors that sell AB InBev beer "will have the freedom to sell and promote the variety of beers that many Americans drink".

The agreement to allow the brewing juggernauts combine runs counter to the government's recent moves against other big deals－the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have killed proposed tie-ups in the cable, office supplies and oil drilling industries, among others. In this case, the companies proposed asset sales from the start that helped resolve antitrust officials' concerns.

AB InBev, already the world's largest brewer, struck the 77 billion pounds ($101 billion) deal because it wanted to gain SABMiller's access to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa.

Following divestitures, the deal will keep Budweiser, Beck's and Stella Artois under AB InBev's roof, while ceding control of brands such as Miller in the US and Peroni and Pilsner Urquell in Europe.

"With today's agreement, we have taken a significant step forward on the transaction, which will create the world's first truly global brewer," AB InBev Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito said in a statement.

Bloomberg