AB InBev and SABMiller on Wednesday announced they had reached agreement on the terms of their $US107 billion tie-up.
At this stage the merged entity is dubbed Newco, a generic placeholder name commonly used for proposed merged companies to distinguish the combined entity with existing companies involved in the merger.
CEO Carlos Brito said a decision on the corporate identity that will supersede Newco had not yet been reached.
“We’ve worked very hard to get to this point today. The name of the company is not something that’s been top of the list at this point,” he told journalists.
As well as being subject to shareholder approvals, the transaction requires regulatory clearance, including in the European Union, U.S., China, South Africa, Colombia, Ecuador, Australia, India and Canada.
However, a legal expert says the deal faces no regulatory hurdles in Australia, where it is likely to sail past the ACCC.
The transaction is expected to be completed during the second half of 2016, subject to regulatory clearances.
Following its required disposals, the new company will account for 29 per cent of the global 198 billion litre beer market, according to Jeremy Cunnington, Senior Alcoholic Drinks Analyst at Euromonitor International.
“This will make it more than three times bigger than its nearest rival, Heineken with 9 per cent,” he said.
“The deal is a culmination of over a decade of mass consolidation which has seen the top five’s share of global beer volumes rise from 38 per cent in 2005 to 56 per cent following this deal in a category that has grown by 23 per cent over the same period.”
Lion, AB InBev’s current Australian distribution partner, declined to comment.
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