If you’re at all tuned into the world of alcohol news, you’ve been hearing a lot about AB InBev’s speculative acquisition of SABMiller for over a month now. And honestly, it’s got you saying, “any day now!!!” Well, your prayers have been answered; Wednesday was the day of the deal. AB InBev has finally named the magic number and will be buying SABMiller for $107 billion, thereby creating the biggest beer producer in the world. So, what does this mean for you?
Probably nothing.
The main, consumer-facing effects of this union mainly have to do with geography. SABMiller, who does a lot of business in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, will open the doors for AB InBev to spread the distribution of its brands into these emerging markets. However, there is a slight chance that we’ll see some changes. First, in mergers of this capacity, it’s common for some brands to suffer, or get the boot in full. Rumor has it that a part of the deal was that AB In Bev will sell SABMiller’s 58% stake in Miller Coors to Molson Coors. Second, it wouldn’t be unheard of to see a slight hike in prices. Hmph.
So, unless you’re a shareholder, which is a longer story we won’t bore you with here, you probably (and hopefully) won’t even notice.