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Small shareholders win the bar fight at SABMiller

The brewing giant will hold two votes on its mooted £79bn takeover by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev
August 25, 2016

Smaller SABMiller (SAB) shareholders have got their way and will be given a separate vote on the brewing giant's £79bn takeover by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev.

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The UK High Court said Altria, the US tobacco company, and BevCo, which represents the Santo Domingo family, could be treated as a separate class of shareholder. The pair owns 41 per cent of SAB and supports the bid.

The terms of the deal were improved after the fall in sterling made the cash offer - which smaller shareholders will get - look worse than the partial share and cash offer which Altria and BevCo will receive. The shares must be held for five years.

Now a vote for each of the cash and cash/shares options will be held and 75 per cent of each shareholder group will need to vote in favour of the deal.