AB InBev to buy SABMiller for £69b in record deal

London

ANHEUSER-Busch InBev NV agreed to buy SABMiller plc for almost £69 billion (S$147 billion) to clinch a record industry deal after several rejections, creating a brewer that will account for a third of all beer sales globally.

The Budweiser maker will pay £44 a share in cash for a majority of the shares in its nearest competitor, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday, gaining brands such as Peroni and Grolsch, and giving it control of about half the industry's profit. SABMiller shares rose as much as 9.4 per cent to £39.62 in London.

"We think that this is good value for SAB," said Alicia Forry, an analys…