SABMiller Goes Dutch
SABMiller announced this morning that it will buy Grolsch for $1.2 billion.
The board of the nearly 400 year-old brewery Dutch brewery has fully backed the bid.
Anheuser-Busch recently signed a ten-year deal to import and market Grolsch in the US, and many A-B distributors have recently paid to acquire the brand from other distributors. SABMiller indicated in company statements that it will “seek to enter into discussions” with A-B to in an attempt to acquire the US rights.
In the meantime, A-B will be importing a brand owned by rival SABMiller.
Graham Mackay, Chief Executive of SABMiller, said in a statement that “Grolsch will provide SABMiller with a powerful addition to its international brand portfolio. Within the SABMiller family Grolsch will continue to build on almost 400 years of brewing heritage, and together we will establish new positions in the most important emerging beer markets around the world.”
