SABMiller’s fourth-largest shareholder, the Public Investment Corp., met with Anheuser-Busch InBev Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito in South Africa last week to discuss concerns that a merger of the world’s two biggest brewers would affect employment in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
The money-manager, owned by the South African government, reiterated its demand that the combined company be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and preserve local jobs, spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela said in an e-mailed response to questions on Monday.
The PIC also said AB InBev, based in Leuven, Belgium, must support secondary industries linked to brewing, including agriculture, and asked how a takeover would benefit the South African economy, he said.
AB InBev agreed to pay almost $106 billion for SABMiller earlier this month in a takeover that would create a brewer selling one in every third beer worldwide.
The deal remains tentative, and the two companies have until 28 October to hammer out a formal agreement. The PIC owns a 3.14 per cent stake in SABMiller, which is based in London but can trace its roots back to 19th century Johannesburg.
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