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Competition commission extends probe of SABMiller deal

Johannesburg - The Competition Commission will fail to meet Tuesday’s deadline for completing an investigation into Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev’s takeover of SABMiller [JSE:SAB] and will extend the probe.

The competition commission needs to make a recommendation about the deal to Competition Tribunal, which is among regulatory authorities across the world who must sign off on the R15.7bn takeover that combines the world’s biggest brewers.

SABMiller, which started selling beer to gold miners in Johannesburg in 1895, controls 90% of the South African market.

Legislation permits the commission to extend a takeover probe by 15 days, Itumeleng Lesofe, spokesperson for the commission, said by phone on Monday.

“There is still work that needs to be done and a number of issues that needs to be considered,” Lesofe said, declining to comment further.

In January, AB Inbev listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's (JSE) main board, with an opening price of R1938 a share. The R3trn listing occured after AB InBev's accepted takeover bid of brewer SABMiller. As part of the planned acquisition, AB InBev pledged to list the combined entity in South Africa.

AB InBev agreed to buy SABMiller for £68bn (now R1.43trn) in October with a £44 (now R924) offer. Since the listing, SAB’s share price on the JSE dropped from R966.53 to R890 on Monday, with a R1.49trn market cap. AB Inbev's share price was trading 1.84% higher at R1 887 on Monday at 14:00. 


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