Yahoo Finance SABMiller Shares Soar On £75bn Takeover Talk
Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) in SABMiller (LSE: SAB.L - news) soared by almost 12% at one stage on the FTSE 100 on Monday following reports it is now a takeover target itself, following a failed bid for Heineken (Other OTC: HEINY - news) .
News of SAB's bid for the Dutch firm emerged on Sunday, with its failure apparently encouraging the world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) to step up its own interest in SAB.
The maker of Heineken and Amstel beers said the proposal from SAB was "non-actionable".
The decision was made by the De-Carvalho family, which controls just over 50% of Heineken's stock.
Heineken's statement said: "The Heineken family has informed SABMiller, Heineken and Heineken Holding (Other OTC: HKHHF - news) of its intention to preserve the heritage and identity of Heineken as an independent company".
London-listed SABMiller - the world's number two brewer which owns the Peroni and Grolsch brands - would have created a combined European firm worth more than £80bn under its proposals to take over Heineken.
In the wake of the rejection, the Wall Street Journal later reported that AB InBev was seeking finance for a £75bn move on SAB.
It cited a source at the company as saying it was looking to secure funds ahead of a formal approach.
