The Financial Times reported last night that Budweiser owner AB InBev was poised to announce this morning that it had agreed terms for the deal to buy SABMiller and sell the latter’s majority stake in its US joint venture brewing business to Molson Coors of Canada. The JV disposal was seen as essential to help AB InBev win approval from US regulators for the SAB takeover. One person familiar with the negotiations said SAB would sell its 58% stake for about $12bn (£7.9bn). The Times added that the AB InBev takeover would create the world’s dominant brewer, making almost one in three pints.
Shares in Premier Foods jumped 17% yesterday after its Mr Kipling, Oxo and Bisto brands returned to growth for the first time in two years. The FT said it sparked hopes that the highly indebted company was finally on the mend. The food manufacturer reported an unexpectedly strong rise in second-quarter branded sales of 1.6%. CEO Gavin Darby said that it was a “demonstrable manifestation” of the group’s investment strategy.
“Can the undead ever return to the land of the living or are they condemned to an eternal twilight existence between life and death?,” asked The Telegraph as it reported signs of life at Premier Foods. The paper added that for a while Premier was so weighed down by a debt pile of more than £2bn that it looked destined to end up in the hands of its banks.
Outgoing Waitrose boss Mark Price has said Britain should turn its back on capitalism as it is failing to serve society (The Telegraph). He told the Telegraph Festival of Business companies that maximise employee happiness are contributing to a “fairer form of capitalism”.
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