EU regulators conditionally approve AB InBev's acquisition of SABMiller

The European Union (EU) regulators on Tuesday gave conditional consent to the world's leading brewer AB InBev's proposed acquisition of smaller peer SABMiller.

The European Commission, or the EU executive body, said the clearance is conditional on AB InBev selling practically the entire SABMiller beer business in Europe, by which the EU intends to ensure the takeover won't reduce competition on European beer markets.

The EU regulators had concerns that the transaction could lead to higher beer prices in member states where SABMiller is currently active, because the deal would remove an important competitor and made tacit co-ordination between the leading international brewers more likely.

AB InBev has offered to divest practically all of SABMiller's beer business in Europe, which addressed these concerns from the European Commission, according to the Commission.

AB InBev's roughly 108 billion U.S. dollar takeover of SABMiller, the world's second largest brewer, will create a global market leader.

Brands of the Leuven, Belgium-headquartered AB Inbev include Corona, Stella Artois and Budweiser, among others. SABMiller owns brands such as Miller, Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Grolsch.

In Europe, where Heineken and Carlsberg are the market leaders, the merger brings together the third and fourth largest brewers by volume. Endit