SAB increases Foster's takeover bid

SABMiller owns brands including Miller, Tyskie and Grolsch

Published: 11:19am, 21st September 2011
Updated: 5:05am, 22nd September 2011

Grolsch owner SABMiller looks set to swallow Foster's after the brewer upped its takeover bid to 11.5 billion Australian dollars (£7.3 billion).

The new offer has won the backing of the Australian firm's board just a week after Foster's urged its shareholders to reject SAB's "inadequate" offer.

SABMiller, which has since increased its offer price by 4% to 5.10 Australian dollars a share (£3.34) and offered to honour a one-off payment by Foster's, is the world's second-biggest brewer by volume and has global brands including Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Miller Genuine Draft.

After its initial rebuttal by the Australian beer giant, SABMiller threatened to go hostile in the takeover battle by approaching shareholders directly.

The South African group is interested in targeting Australia's profitable beer market, in which Foster's is the leading brewer with seven of the top 10 beer brands, as well as a national distribution network and scale production.

Foster's, which owns leading brands including VB, Carlton Draught and Corona, had become the subject of takeover interest after it sold off its under-performing wine business into a separately listed company in May.

The agreement is still the subject of approval by shareholders and regulators.