SABMiller takeover chatter refuelled by schedule changes
Speculation that SABMiller (LON: SAB) may receive a takeover bid from rival brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) (NYSE: BUD) increased anew as news emerged of unexpected conference no-shows, a newswire report said. SABMiller’s biggest shareholder, Altria (NYSE: MO), has cancelled an appearance at a conference organised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg reported, citing the Betaville blog.
Virginia-based Altria, with an approximately 27% stake in London-based SABMiller, is considered key to any potential merger of the company with ABI, the report said.
Felipe Dutra, ABI’s chief financial officer, failed to attend a Barclays conference at which he was expected to deliver a presentation last week, and was replaced by an investor-relations representative, which also caused tongues to wag, the item reported.
SABMiller’s share price jumped up to 4.1% yesterday, the report noted. Adam Fleck, an analyst with Morningstar, was quoted speculating that the schedule changes may have been caused by an upcoming deal being under way.
Neither ABI nor SAB wished to comment, the report said; an Altria spokesperson said an unspecified conflict caused its cancellation.