Anheuser-Busch InBev will take another week to formalize its offer for competitor SABMiller.
The two largest beermakers on Wednesday morning said they agreed to extend the “put up or shut up” deadline to 5 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. Mountain) on Nov. 11. The previous deadline was 5 p.m. Wednesday,
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This is the second time since the more than $100 billion merger was announced on Oct. 13 that AB InBev and SABMiller have extended the deadline. In the interim, AB InBev completed a due diligence review and shored up the necessary funds to complete the deal on short notice.
The two companies also “have made good progress” in hammering out terms of the tie-up, AB InBev said Wednesday.
Part of those discussions in MillerCoors to its minority partner in the American joint venture, Denver-based Molson Coors.
Industry analysts previously said of any divestiture made to . Also likely at issue will be the regulation of AB InBev’s distribution holdings, attorneys and analysts told Bloomberg News last month.
The Justice Department and California’s attorney general have inquired into AB InBev’s deals to acquire distributors in the state.
AB InBev, the maker of beers such as Budweiser, Shock Top and Corona, now after purchasing Loveland-based American Eagle Distributing and Standard Sales Co.’s operations in Littleton, Colorado Springs and Pueblo this summer. A spokesman for Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has declined to say whether her office is looking into the acquisitions.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
