SABMiller Plc, the London-based parent company of MillerCoors, confirmed it will acquire Foster’s Group Ltd. with a sweetened offer of $9.9 billion for Australia’s biggest brewer.
SABMiller will pay $5.10 per share in cash for Melbourne based Foster’s. Foster’s shareholders also will receive 30 cents per as part of a previously-announced capital return and a 13.25-cent final dividend.
The offer was previously for $4.90, minus dividends.
The acquisition will be the largest ever by SABMiller and give it access to about half of the Australian beer market.
SABMiller’s initial attempts to buy the maker of Victoria Bitter were rebuffed by Foster’s management as undervaluing the brewer, one of the world’s most profitable.
SABMiller is the world’s second-largest brewer by volume.
The acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of 2011.
Graham Mackay, chief executive of SABMiller said, "Foster’s will become an important part of our business, and through the application of our commercial capabilities and global scale, we expect to build on the initiatives that Foster’s management has put in place, further enhancing Foster’s performance and creating value for our shareholders."
MillerCoors is based in Chicago and operates a brewery in Milwaukee.
