Beer Giants Toast £71bn Takeover Agreement

Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed the terms of its £71bn swoop for Grolsch brewer SAB Miller - the largest takeover of a British firm in corporate history.

The deal will combine the world's two biggest brewers and create a company that makes almost a third of the world's beer

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) will also see London-listed SAB's 58% stake in America’s Miller Coors sold to Molson Coors for $12bn (£7.9bn). This deal, which includes rights to Miller's name brand worldwide, should ease concerns that the combine firm will have a stranglehold on the US market.

The new company, which does not yet have a name, will also have to address regulatory issues in China.

Carlos Brito, chief executive of Belgium-based AB InBev said: "This combination would create the first truly global brewer."

The merger brings together some of the world's best-known beer brands including AB InBev's Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois and SABMiller (Xetra: BRW1.DE - news) 's Grolsch and Peroni.

The enlarged company's shares will be listed in Brussels, Johannesburg and Mexico. It hopes to make savings of at least $1.4bn (£924 million) a year from the combined group, which is likely to stoke fears of job cuts.

AB InBev is seeking to bolster growth through SABMiller's businesses in Africa and Asia as more developed markets see sales hit by changing tastes and the growth of craft beer.

The two firms had twice extended the deadline for a formal offer after reaching an agreement in principle for the takeover a month ago.

Formal confirmation prompted relief from investors, sending shares 3% higher.

The deal is expected to go through in the second half of 2016, if it gets clearance from regulators and shareholders.

SAB employs around 69,000 people in more than 80 countries and has global annual sales of more than $26bn (£17bn).

AB InBev has a 155,000-strong global workforce and makes more than $47.1bn (£30.5bn) in global revenues (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .