AB InBev says wins U.S. Antitrust Approval for SABMiller Deal

(Reuters) - The world's top two brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller , have won U.S. antitrust approval to merge, Ab InBev said on Wednesday.

The deal, which was announced in November of last year, is worth about $100 billion.

To win approval for the deal, Denver-based Molson Coors will buy SABMiller's 58 percent stake in their U.S. joint venture.

The terms of the deal prevent AB InBev from acquiring a distributor that will result in it distributing more than 10 percent of its beer volume through its own distributors.

AB InBev is also prevented from terminating its relationship any wholesalers as a result of the combination with SABMiller

 

The deal marries AB InBev's Budweiser and Stella Artois beers with SABMiller's Miller and Pilsner Urquell. The companies brew almost a third of the world's beer, dwarfing other major producers like Heineken and Carlsberg.

Australia, Europe and South Africa have cleared the deal. The companies are waiting for China to approve it although a proposed sale of SABMiller's stake in CR Snow was expected to lead to clearance.

AB InBev also said it reaffirmed its intention to close the deal by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Bernard Orr)