News out yesterday as the saga continues 30 July 2016
Just bringing this to your attention in case you missed it as doubt over the deal had been cited as one of the causes of a wobbly pound during the week.
The deal had been first agreed last October as I reported here to create the world's largest beer firm, producing about 30% of the world's beer, and the initial news had caused the obligatory scampering/front-running to buy GBP.
SABMiller has recommended that its shareholders should accept a revised takeover offer from AB InBev who own Buwdeiser amongst other brands. They've raised their offer for rival SABMiller on Tuesday after the pound's fall post-Brexit had made its original terms less attractive.
The revised offer is now increased by £1 a share to £45 a share, valuing SABMiller at about £79bln, up from £70bln previously.
In another important development yesterday, the deal was given the go-ahead by Chinese regulators, a major hurdle to overcome before any deal could go ahead.
Says the BBC:
The way in which the offer is structured means that investors can receive either cash, or a mixture of cash and shares in the newly-merged company - a partial share agreement (PSA) as it is known.
However, the PSA was designed specifically for SAB's two biggest shareholders Altria and Bevco, who wanted to keep a stake in the new company. Since last November, when the merger was agreed, the cash offer has become less attractive given the weaker value of the pound.
However, Aberdeen Asset Management, an SABMiller shareholder, has again said that the deal is unacceptable saying:
"as we have already indicated, we intend to vote against the deal as we are uncomfortable with the structure and believe it undervalues the company".
The saga continues and with much to yet be agreed we shouldn't be expecting any positive impact on the pound any time soon but it's a story worth following given its large cash impact.
