The $100 billion merger battle playing out between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller is not the only high-profile beer deal fermenting, The Post has learned.
Diageo’s sale of Guinness and the rest of its beer portfolio may be on tap.
The British beer and spirits company in recent weeks has been under shareholder pressure to sell its beer business or perhaps just its Guinness brand, two sources told The Post.
SAB, which is fending off ABI, could merge with Diageo’s beer business, one of the sources said.
Diageo on Wednesday announced it sold its 58 percent stake in the Jamaican brewer that makes Red Stripe, and the 50 percent stake it owns in Malaysian brewer Guinness Anchor Berhad to Heineken for $781 million.
“Red Stripe has always been non-core to Diageo,” a source familiar with the company’s thinking said. “All of a sudden getting this done now could be a coincidence, or perhaps it could be because they are getting pressure” and want to show they are serious about thinning the beer portfolio.
A well-placed investment banker said he knew Diageo was not happy with the performance of its beer portfolio.
Diageo sells more Guinness beer in Africa than Ireland, sources said, and combining with SAB, which is also strong in Africa, could strengthen both companies.
Meanwhile, SAB Wednesday said it was rejecting ABI’s third proposal, GBP 42.15 per share, to buy the company because it was not close to what it was worth.
ABI under British Takeover Law needs to make a formal offer by next Wednesday, which it has not yet done, or walk away for six months.
On Wednesday, ABI said it will not make a formal offer that the SAB board does not support.
SAB’s lead shareholder, Altria, which has 3 of SAB’s 16 board seats, said Wednesday it would like SAB to meaningfully engage with ABI.
Still, the rest of the board stood behind SAB’s tough defensive posture, SAB said.
A source close to ABI said, “It’s hard to say” what the state of play is now in the merger talks.
A Diageo spokeswoman said the Red Stripe sale had been in the works for months, but declined to comment on Guinness.