The world's top brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to sell SABMiller's stake in China's leading beer maker to the local partner for $1.6 billion, according to a statement on Wednesday, as part of the two giants' mega-merger.
China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co. Ltd. will buy the 49 percent stake in Snow Breweries, its joint venture with Britain's SABMiller, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange where it is listed. It said the deal would go through "as soon as practicable" after AB InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian company, takes over SABMiller.
AB InBev announced in November 2015 it would buy SABMiller for $121 billion - the third-largest acquisition in history - creating a juggernaut brewing three times as much beer as its nearest rival. The sale of the Snow Breweries stake may help AB InBev secure Chinese antitrust approval for the SABMiller acquisition, Bloomberg News reported.