Diageo and SABMiller rise amid rumours of merger
Shares in SABMiller and Diageo rose yesterday, 30 June, amid speculation the UK-listed, drinks groups might merge, The Times reported.
A market report in The Daily Telegraph said the merger rumours have been circulating for the past four days. According to The Guardian’s Market Forces Live blog, SABMiller is rumoured to be instigating a Diageo merger to defend against a possible takeover approach from the Belgium-headquartered brewing goliath, Anheuser-Busch InBev.
SABMiller ended the day’s trading at GBP 33.88 (EUR 42.34), up 22p, and Diageo up 18.5p at GBP 18.66. The companies have market capitalisations of GBP 54.3bn and GBP 47bn, respectively.
Source The Times (London), Daily Telegraph, The Guardian