Photo illustration of cans of Foster's beer in Sydney Aug. 23, 2011.DANIEL MUNOZ
Brewing giant SABMiller PLC agreed to buy Foster's Group Ltd. on Wednesday for an increased price of $5.10 (Australian) per share valuing the Australian beer maker at $9.9-billion ($10.2-billion U.S.) to give SABMiller a leading position in the Australian beer market.
As part of the deal, Foster's will pay a return of capital worth 30 Australian cents per share and its final dividend for the year to June 30, 2011. The total value of the deal, including debt, is $11.5-billion (Australian).
"We are pleased that we reached agreement on a recommended transaction to be put to Foster's shareholders," said SABMiller chief executive Graham Mackay in a statement. The London-based brewer of Peroni, Miller Lite and Grolsch launched its initial cash bid worth $9.5-billion (Australian) on June 21, and then went hostile by taking the offer direct to shareholders at the same price on Aug. 17, but Foster's rejected both approaches as being too low.
SABMiller says the bid is part of its strategy of creating an attractive global spread of businesses to add to its operations largely in the emerging markets of Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.