The king of beers is sizing up an even bigger crown. The mnaging board of one of the world's biggest brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev) announced a forthcoming mega-merger with SABMiller. According to a statement published on the official website, the parties managed to reach some arrangements and signed a merger agreement. As reported by informed sources, ABInBev has raised its cash offer to SAB shareholders to £44 ($67.65) a share. Importantly, two brewers were able to close a deal, but only after weeks of behind-the-scenes talks. In the course of exhausting negotiations, SABMiller's representatives have rejected the proposal of ABInBev twice. Shares' price gained after every rejection. Initially, ABInBev offered £40 per share, but after the rejection it was decided to increase the price up to £42.15 a share. SABMiller's owners were not satisfied with this sum either. After a few days of contemplation, a new proposal of £43.50 a share was made, which also did not make an impression on SABMiller’s board. So, the price had to be rounded to £44. According to a statement, "the boards of ABInBev and SABMiller have reached agreement in principle on the key terms of a possible recommended offer to be made by ABInBev." At this moment, there is no dead certainty that this proposal will be made without any changes, as the price is almost twice bigger than the current value of SABMiller.
