Megabrew latest: AB InBev brewing six-tranche euro-dominated bond deal of at least $6bn to help fund SABMiller acquisition
The world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is embarking on a jumbo euro bond deal to pave the way for the megabrew merger to complete.
AB InBev is planning to issue a six-tranche, euro-dominated bond deal with maturities ranging from four to 20 years in length, with each tranche expected to be at least $1bn (£709m) in size.
The proceeds will partly be used to fund the acquisition of the drinks major SABMiller, while some proceeds will also be used for general corporate purposes.
AB InBev and SABMiller agreed to the takeover in November in a £71bn deal. Between them, the companies own more than 30 per cent of the world's major beer brands including Stella Artois and Budweiser.
To ease concerns that the merger will result in a too-dominant beer giant, SABMiller is selling its Millers Coors' stake to co-owner Molson Coors and is looking to offload its premium brands Peroni and Grolsch. SABMiller may also sell off the Greenwich-based craft brewer Meantime, less than a year after its acquisition.
In January, AB InBev sold $46bn of bonds in the second-largest corporate bond sale ever recorded on the back of more than $100bn of investor orders.
AB InBev's latest debt sale comes comes after the European Central Bank announced last Thursday that it will start buying corporate bonds later this year.