Two of the world's biggest beer brewers have come a step closer to making a mega deal on Tuesday, making an announcement that they have agreed to a "pact-in-principle," after Belgium's Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI-BE) decided to buy the South Africa-based brewer, SAB-Miller (SAB-GB).
The agreement states that AB InBev would buy SABMiller, with the latter's shareholders being entitled to receive $67.60 per share in cash. A press release on Tuesday morning also read that AB InBev would agree to a "best efforts" commitment to obtain any regulatory clearances required before the transaction. This also included $3 billion payable to SABMiller in the event that the transaction fails to close as a result of the failure to obtain the regulatory clearances or the approval of the AB InBev shareholders, according to CNBC.
If the deal goes successfully, AB InBev will be crowned the "King of Beers" after acquiring SABMiller for $104 billion. If this merger is made, it would create an annual revenue of about $64 billion with a command of 30 percent of the global beer sales, according to The New York Times.
The agreement culminated after weeks of discussion, with the deadline on Wednesday. If AB InBev failed to push a formal offer, they would not be able to approach SABMiller after another six months.
The $3 billion break-up fee isn't the biggest however, as that title is held by the $10 billion fee that Verizon Communications Inc., agreed to in 2013 when it said that it would buy Vodafone Group PLC's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless.
In the case of AB-InBev and SABMiller however, the break-up fee comes under only 3 percent of the takeover value, reported The Wall Street Journal.
The final deal has not yet undergone conclusion but that day may soon come.
