E-Malt.com News article: South Africa: SABMiller announces successful closing of SAB Zenzele Retail offer

The South African Breweries Limited ("SAB") and SAB Zenzele Holdings Limited ("SAB Zenzele") announced on June, 9 the successful closing of the offer of SAB Zenzele shares to qualifying applicants (the "Retailer Offer").

In terms of the Retailer Offer, black-owned licensed liquor retailers and liquor licence applicants, as well as registered black-owned customers of ABI, the soft drinks division of SAB ("Retailers"), were invited in terms of a prospectus to apply for 19,228,250 ordinary shares in SAB Zenzele.

The offer, which closed on 28 April 2010, attracted over 33 000 applications and was 29% oversubscribed. This has resulted in the introduction of a broad base of 29,542 black shareholders in SAB Zenzele, which now owns 3.52% of SAB. This is in addition to the 3.39% of SAB which is owned by The SAB Zenzele Employee Trust for the benefit of 9,416 of SAB's employees and 1.54% of SAB which is owned by The SAB Foundation - established for the benefit of the broader South African community.

SAB MD and Chairman Norman Adami says: "We are delighted with the response to the SAB Zenzele transaction. I truly believe that the transaction has delivered on its key goals of creating genuine broad-based empowerment, focusing on retailers, employees and the broader community.

"We now have almost 40 000 new shareholders in SAB in addition to many new beneficiaries through the SAB Foundation. At SAB we have long been committed to supporting the empowerment of South Africans and nothing says this more clearly than our effort with SAB Zenzele."

Founded in 1895, the South African Breweries Ltd (SAB) is the South African subsidiary and historical birthplace of SABMiller plc.


11 June, 2010