SABMiller deal not quite sewn up ahead of vote
Anheuser-Busch InBev will be relying on hedge funds to push the takeover through
JUST a week away from the SABMiller shareholder vote on Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev’s) offer and, after all AB InBev’s hard slog and promises, it’s difficult to imagine that the deal will not go through. Difficult but not impossible. In a year in which global currency markets, equity markets and even the AB InBev offer for SABMiller were dealt an almighty blow from the unexpected outcome of the Brexit vote, few commentators are prepared to say this is a done deal until the votes are counted on September 28. In theory, if all the South African-based SABMiller shareholders decided in one jingoistic gesture to vote as a bloc to prevent the disappearance of a local icon, they could stop the deal. According to the SABMiller share register, at end-August 13.8% of the company is held in SA. (The US holds 24.8%, England 24.7%, and Europe 21%.) If 100% of the 59% of SABMiller shareholders entitled to vote do vote, this 13.8%, combined with the 2.26% shareholders that have indicated they...
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