World: Falling pound creating $3.2 bln windfall for two of SABMiller’s biggest shareholders

The falling value of the pound following Britain's decision to leave the European Union is creating a $3.2 billion windfall for two of SABMiller's biggest shareholders, St. Louis Business Journal reported.

As part of Anheuser-Busch InBev's pending $107 billion buyout of SABMiller, AB InBev offered SABMiller shareholders 44 pounds per share in cash or a partial-share alternative that was valued at around 39 pounds per share when the deal was announced in October. Investors who choose to take the partial-share option must keep their shares for at least five years.

The alternative was designed to help SABMiller's two largest shareholders — Altria Group Inc. and BevCo, the Santo Domingo family's investment company — with taxation and possible accounting issues.

However, the pound's recent drop as compared to the euro has pushed the value of the partial-share alternative to about 51.50 pounds per share, which is 17 percent higher than the cash offer, Bloomberg reports.

“Whether or not there’s a threat to the deal in terms of fairness is a fascinating question and for AB InBev to have left that risk open is a surprise,” Tom Russo, who manages $10 billion for Gardner Russo & Gardner, told the news service.

AB InBev said last week that it is "well on track" to close the SABMiller deal in the second half of this year after it received approval from regulators in South Africa for the merger.

07 July, 2016