High Court Backs SAB Miller’s Plan to Split Shareholder Vote on AB InBev Deal

24 Aug 2016 --- The UK High Court has given the green light to a proposal from SAB Miller to ease investor concern over its £79bn ($104m) takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) by splitting its shareholders into two groups.

Shareholders BevCo and Altria Group, which own around 40 percent of SABMiller's shares, will be hived off into a separate entity from other shareholders when the deal is voted on on September 28.

For the deal to be approved, both votes would need approval from 75 percent of shareholders.

SABMiller made the recommendation to the High Court as there was concern that BevCo and Altria wielded too much influence.

The approval from the High Court effectively raises the bar for the deal to be approved by shareholders.

Other shareholders, such as Aberdeen Asset Management, had raised concerns about the deal.

In a statement, Aberdeen Asset Managed said: “We are pleased the court has acknowledged the reality of the situation which will help to ensure that the views of the rest of the investor base have due weight.”

In a statement, SABMiller said Altria and BevCo agreed “not to vote with other SABMiller shareholders”.

The SABMiller board has recommended that shareholders accept the Belgian brewer's all-cash offer of £45 ($59) a share, an increase from its earlier price of £44 ($58), valuing the London-listed firm at around £79 billion ($104bn).