AB InBev has EU approval to buy the SAT

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) obtained EU approval for its acquisition of rival SABMiller, after agreeing to sell some brands to eliminate antitrust concerns. The deal, which involves $ 106 billion, will combine the two largest breweries in the world.
The European Commission said yesterday that the proposed sale of the brands Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime, SABMiller, for the Japanese Asahi, and the sale of Pilsner Urquell and other brands in Central and Eastern Europe, will ensure that "EU consumers will not be at a disadvantage".
"Europeans spend about € 125 billion euros per year to buy beers, and so even a relatively small increase in prices could cause considerable damage to consumers," said Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, said in a statement.
AB InBev, based in Leuven, in Belgium, is doing everything possible to obtain regulatory approval around the world. The company agreed to create a Fund of $ 69 million to support the South African Brewer industry and protect jobs in the country where the SAT was founded. The company is also selling shares of SAT in partnerships in the United States and China.
"With this approval, we remain firmly in the way of a closing of the deal in the second half of 2016," said Carlos Brito, CEO of InBev said in a statement.
AB InBev has already obtained the green light to the transaction in 14 jurisdictions. Where regulatory authorization is still pending, according to the company, she "will continue to cooperate actively with the relevant authorities to obtain necessary approvals as quickly as possible".
The company has already agreed to sell the share of SABMiller in Snow, the best-selling beer in the world, to China Resources Beer, its partner in a joint venture, and Molson Coors will acquire full control of brands like Coors Light and Blue Moon in the United States.
The European Commission said it was concerned about the possibility of the merger to raise beer prices, eliminating a major competitor. With the sale of "virtually all operations of SABMiller breweries in Europe", AB InBev has eliminated those concerns, said the EU statement.
The Commission''s decision to approve the deal is conditional on full compliance with the commitments made.