A woman carries beer produced by brewing company SAB Miller past kegs at a bar in Cape Town, September 16, 2015. Anheuser-Busch InBev has approached rival SABMiller about a takeover that would form a brewing colossus producing a third of the world's beer. A merged group would have a market value of around $275 billion (£177 billion) at current prices, and would combine AB InBev's dominance of Latin America with SABMiller's dominance in Africa, both fast-growing markets, as well as their breweries in Asia. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
A woman carries beer produced by brewing company SAB Miller past kegs at a bar in Cape Town, September 16, 2015. Anheuser-Busch InBev has approached rival SABMiller about a takeover that would form a brewing colossus producing a third of the world's beer. A merged group would have a market value of around $275 billion (£177 billion) at current prices, and would combine AB InBev's dominance of Latin America with SABMiller's dominance in Africa, both fast-growing markets, as well as their breweries in Asia. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
Briefs

Insiders: AB Inbev’s latest bid still not high enough to win over SABMiller

SABMiller does not view the latest takeover proposal from Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV as compelling enough to begin formal merger talks.
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By Ruth David, Thomas Buckley and Dinesh Nair

(Bloomberg) — SABMiller Plc does not view the latest takeover proposal from Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV as compelling enough to begin formal merger talks or seek an extension of a Wednesday deadline for a firm offer to be made, according to people familiar with the matter.

AB InBev's 67.4 billion-pound proposal ($103.4 billion), or about 43.5 pounds per share, is still short of what the Peroni- maker's board is seeking, said the people, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. SABMiller's board met on Monday to discuss the latest offer, the fourth so far from its larger rival, and determined it was not in the shareholders' interests, one of the people said.

A woman carries beer produced by brewing company SAB Miller past kegs at a bar in Cape Town, September 16, 2015. Anheuser-Busch InBev has approached rival SABMiller about a takeover that would form a brewing colossus producing a third of the world's beer. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
A woman carries beer produced by brewing company SAB Miller past kegs at a bar in Cape Town, September 16, 2015. Anheuser-Busch InBev has approached rival SABMiller about a takeover that would form a brewing colossus producing a third of the world's beer. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Time is running out for AB InBev to overcome resistance from SABMiller, whose board has so far refused to enter negotiations, calling all proposals before Monday too low. AB InBev has the financial means to push the offer price to 45 pounds a share, one of the people said, which is closer to what the smaller, London-listed brewer is seeking.

Three previous proposals have been spurned, the most recent of which AB InBev made public on Oct. 7. Monday's bid follows a contentious week for the world's two biggest brewers, who between them control half of the industry's profit pool from brands like Grolsch, Kozel, Stella Artois and Bud Light. On Friday, top SABMiller shareholders Aberdeen Asset Management Plc and Kulczyk Investments SA pledged support for the brewer in spurning the previous offer of 42.15 pounds a share.

SABMiller shares closed 1.3 percent down in London at 3,622 pence, while AB InBev was almost unchanged in Brussels at 98.35 euros.

AB InBev
SABMiller
Budweiser
Stella Artois

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