AB InBev-SABMiller deal: Rivals see local battles but no global war

Brussels

THE prospect of a new competitor that produces one-third of an entire industry's output would normally terrify rival companies, but brewing is different.

The very local nature of lagers and ales, and the fact that a price war is seen as unlikely, mean global market leader Anheuser-Busch InBev's (AB InBev) imminent takeover of SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer, should not destroy the competition.

"It's been rumoured for a long time, so it's not like we haven't had time to think about it," Laurence Debroux, chief financ…