An InBev NV purchase of U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. may trigger more mergers among beer producers seeking to match the combined company’s ability to boost earnings through wider distribution.
SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. might try merging, while Mexico-based Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB or Turkey’s largest brewer may be takeover targets, said analysts, including Dresdner Kleinwort’s Andrew Holland.
SABMiller has told InBev that it would consider a bid from the Belgian company, the Financial Times reported Wednesday on its Alphaville blog.
InBev, the maker of Stella Artois and Beck’s, is studying a bid for Anheuser-Busch, according to two people with knowledge of InBev’s plans. An acquisition would give InBev one-fourth of global beer sales and more than half the U.S. market. InBev, the world’s largest brewer by sales, has units in Brazil, Europe and China. Anheuser-Busch is the biggest beer company in the U.S.
London-based SABMiller might be forced to expand on its agreement to combine its U.S. unit with that of Molson Coors, said Holland.
“My guess is that could lead to an eventual merger of the parent companies as well,” he said.
Molson Coors spokesman Paul de la Plante said the company doesn’t comment on market rumors. SABMiller spokesman Nigel Fairbrass declined to comment on the company’s possible transactions.
