LONDON -- SABMiller plc has proposed, through its indirect wholly owned Australian subsidiary SABMiller Beverage Investments Pty. Ltd., to make a conditional, off-market, cash takeover offer for all of the issued shares in Australian brewer Foster's Group Ltd. at $4.90 (Australian; $5.17 U.S.) per fully paid ordinary share, reduced by the amount of any dividend or distribution paid or declared by Foster's after this announcement.
On June 20, 2011, SABMiller approached Foster's with a confidential proposal to acquire all of the ordinary shares in Foster's by way of a Foster's [image-nocss] recommended scheme of arrangement at A$4.90 per share in cash. On June 21, 2011, Foster's announced that it had rejected the SABMiller proposal (click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage).
SABMiller said that it "believes the proposal put to the Foster's board is attractive and should be put to Foster's shareholders. As there has been no willingness to engage in relation to SABMiller's proposal on the part of the Foster's board, SABMiller has decided to make an offer to Foster's shareholders directly."
The offer will be funded through a combination of existing resources and new debt committed by a number of financial institutions.
Watch the video or click here for more details from SABMiller CEO Graham Mackay on the strategy behind the bid.
Foster's Lager is Australia's original, full-strength lager, famous for the slogan "Australian for Beer." Created by the Foster Brothers in 1887, this lighter European-style lager is distributed in more than 150 countries. Foster's Lager is sold in the United States through a partnership with Miller Brewing Co. The Foster's name also appears on the low-alcohol Foster's Light Ice. Other brands include Carlsberg and Corona Extra.
London-based SABMiller is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests and distribution agreements across six continents. The group's portfolio includes global brands such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch, as well as leading local brands such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow and Tyskie. The group is also one of the world's largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products.
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