E-Malt.com News article: 3920

Belgium: InBev announced today, January 3, 2005, that it reached an agreement with Alfa-Eco on Friday, 31 December 2004, whereby InBev will acquire all of Alfa-Eco’s holding of voting and non-voting shares in SUN Interbrew Ltd (Luxembourg: SUNAG) (“SUN Interbrew”).

InBev is acquiring 6,065,930 voting and 1,654,269 non-voting shares in SUN Interbrew from Alfa-Eco and its affiliates for a cash consideration of EUR 204.7 million. This equates to a price of EUR 26.51 for each SUN Interbrew voting and non-voting share. In addition, Alfa-Eco and its affiliates will receive up to EUR 55 million in recognition of certain commitments being given to InBev by Alfa-Eco. Alfa-Eco will receive a total consideration of up to EUR 259.7 million.

On completion of this and the previously announced transaction with SUN Trade (International) Ltd, and taking into consideration market purchases, InBev will own 97.3% of the voting shares and 98.8% of the non-voting shares in SUN Interbrew, which in total will give it a 98.5% economic interest in SUN Interbrew. Based upon InBev’s share price of EUR 28.75 as of the close of market on 30 December 2004, the aggregate cost of InBev’s total economic interest in SUN Interbrew, since its initial investment in SUN Interbrew in April 1999, will amount to approximately EUR 1.2 billion. After adjusting for net debt and minority interests, this implies a multiple of 14.2x 2003 EBITDA or 10.5x EBITDA for the twelve months until 30 September 2004. InBev expects that up to EUR 100m of the consideration of up to EUR 259.7 million will be recorded as a one-off charge in 2004. It is estimated that the earnings impact in 2005 of the combination of the Alfa-Eco and SUN Trade (International) Ltd transactions will remain mildly dilutive.

It is anticipated that this transaction and the acquisition of the SUN Trade (International) Ltd shares in SUN Interbrew announced by InBev, on 12 August 2004, will close at the same point during the first quarter of 2005. Completion of these transactions is subject, inter alia, to the customary conditions and approvals.

InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: INB) based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume. InBev’s strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted acquisitions, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, Brahma®, Beck’s®, Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Staropramen® and Bass®. InBev employs some 77,000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2003, InBev realized a net turnover of approximately 9.3 billion euro (2003 pro forma).


03 January, 2005