EU gives nod to US$100b AB InBev, SABMiller merger

London

THE European Commission said on Tuesday that it had signed off on Anheuser-Busch InBev's (AB InBev) more than US$100 billion merger with SABMiller after the companies agreed to sell off SABMiller's premium brands in Europe and some other European operations.

The combination of SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch would create a beer industry giant that would account for about 30 per cent of global beer sales. In hopes of winning regulatory approval, Anheuser-Busch has entered into a number of agreements to sell a variety of assets from the combined company.