Cheers set to end in a whimper
The weakening pound erodes shareholders’ sale premium as SABMiller’s 119-year run on the JSE fizzles out
SABMiller’s 119-year history on the JSE is set to end in something of a whimper as the steadily weakening pound eats into the sale premium expected by South African shareholders.On Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch Inbev (AB InBev) will inform SABMiller’s South African shareholders what rand-sterling exchange rate was used to calculate the payout on their £45 purchase price.The rate used will be the average of the trading range between September 20 and close of business on Tuesday.During that period sterling slumped from around R18.50 to a near three-year low of R17.01 on Monday afternoon. In November 2015 one pound could buy R22.The less-than-expected sale proceeds is the latest ignominy to be endured by South African interests in the largest ever transaction to hit our shores. A few months ago AB InBev announced no South Africans would be included in the merged entity’s top executive team. And last week it announced the merged company’s name would not contain any reference to SABMiller, b...
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