According to Yahoo! Finance, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has agreed to acquire Virginia-based craft brewer Devils Backbone Brewing. At the same time, the company plans to divest some of SABMiller plc’s SBMRY premium European beer brands in order to get the European Commission’s (EC) approval for its pending merger with SABMiller.
Devils Backbone’s popular brands, namely Vienna Lager, Eight Point IPA, and Schwartz Bier, will join AB InBev’s craft brands, including Four Peaks, Goose Island, Blue Point, 10 Barrel, Elysian, and Golden Road. Devils Backbone was founded in 2008 and in the first three years of operation, the company produced nearly 45,000 barrels. The company’s most popular brand, Vienna Lager contributed nearly 60% to its volume growth in 2015.
In other news, in order to gain approval of the EC for its $105 billion deal with SABMiller, AB InBev has informed the EC of its intention to sell three of SABMiller’s premium European beer brands to a Japanese brewing company, Asahi Group Holdings, for €2.55 billion. The sale will include SABMiller’s Peroni, Grolsch, and Meantime brands, along with their related businesses in Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally, minus certain U.S. rights. The European Union has set May 24 as the deadline to provide its ruling on the deal.
In addition, AB InBev has agreed to divest SABMiller’s 58% stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors Brewing for about $12 billion, in order to satisfy the U.S. regulators.
