The vice chairman of Molson Coors says he expects that the headquarters of a new joint venture between Miller and Coors will be in a neutral city.
“It’s highly unlikely it will be either Denver or Milwaukee,” said Pete Coors, who will become chairman of MillerCoors if the deal is approved by the U.S. Justice Department.
Molson Coors has dual headquarters in Denver and Montreal, but chief executive Leo Kiely has his office in downtown Denver. SABMiller is headquartered in London, and Miller, its U.S. brewing unit, is headquartered in Milwaukee.
Sources have said that other cities being considered are Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, New York and Des Moines. Chicago is considered one of the top sites.
Molson Coors spokeswoman Kabira Hatland has said no decision on a headquarters has been made and an announcement won’t come until after the MillerCoors deal gets regulatory approval, which is expected by the middle of this year.
“It will be up to the directors of both the companies to get together to make the decision (on a headquarters city),” said former Coors chairman Bill Coors.
Tim Wolf, chief financial officer of Molson Coors, and Kevin Self, senior vice president of strategy and planning for Miller, are leading the integration planning, said Hatland.
Kiely will be chief executive of the new MillerCoors for at least two years under the proposed joint venture. He has said he would step down as CEO of Molson Coors to take the new job.
Molson Coors would hold a 42 percent economic interest in MillerCoors but will get equal voting shares with SABMiller and have an equal number of representatives on the company’s new board.
Combining No. 2 U.S. beermaker SABMiller, with about 18 percent of U.S. beer sales, and No. 3 brewer Coors, with about 10 percent of beer sales, would increase competitive pressure on market leader Anheuser-Busch, which has 50 percent of U.S. beer sales.
