South African Breweries (officially The South African Breweries Limited, informally SAB) is a major brewery headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and was a wholly owned subsidiary of SABMiller until its interests were sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev on 10 October 2016. South African Breweries is now a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.
The company that is now South African Breweries was founded in 1895 as Castle Brewery to serve a growing market of miners and prospectors in and around Johannesburg. Two years later, it became the first industrial company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the year after (1898) it listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 1950, SAB relocated its headquarters and control from London to South Africa. In 1955, Castle Brewing purchased the Ohlsson's and Chandlers Union breweries, and the group was renamed South African Breweries.
From the early 1990s onward, the company increasingly expanded internationally, making several acquisitions in both emerging and developed markets. In 1999, it formed a new UK-based holding company, SAB plc, and moved its primary listing to London. In May 2002, SAB plc acquired Miller Brewing, forming SABMiller plc.
On 10 October 2016, Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired SABMiller for £69 billion (US$107 billion at the time the deal closed). The arrangement had been approved by shareholders of both companies on 28 September 2016, and the deal closed on 10 October 2016. The acquisition ended the corporate use of the name SABMiller. After the deal closed, the new company's name changed slightly, to Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (abbreviated as AB InBev); it is trading as ABI on the Brussels Stock Exchange, as BUD on the New York stock exchange and as ANH on the Johannesburg market. SABMiller ceased trading on global stock markets.
Acquisition of SABMiller by ABinBev
The acquisition of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev on 10 October 2016 ended the corporate use of the name SABMiller except as a business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev). The new entity began trading on the Brussels Stock Exchange as ABI.BR and as BUD on the New York stock exchange. SABMiller ceased trading on global stock markets and divested itself of its interests in the MillerCoors beer company to Molson Coors.
On 21 December 2016, the company agreed to sell the former SABMiller Ltd. business in Eastern Europe to Asahi Breweries Group Holdings, Ltd. Anheuser-Busch InBev had previously agreed to sell Grolsch Brewery, Peroni Brewery and Meantime Brewery to Asahi; that deal closed on 12 October 2016. On the same day, the sale of SABMiller's 49 percent share in Snow beer to China Resources Enterprise also closed.
In December 2016, the Coca-Cola Company bought the Coca-Cola operations in Africa and in two Central American countries. The deal requires regulatory approval and should close by the end of 2017.
In August 2016, after the plans for acquiring SABMiller had been established by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company said it would close SABMiller's regional offices in Miami, Hong Kong and Beijing after the acquisition deal closed in October 2016. Plans had not yet been revealed for the operation in Zug, Switzerland which controlled SABMiller's central & eastern European beer brands. However, the subsequent sale of much of the business in such countries to Asahi Breweries may affect the Zug operation. The office in Woking (United Kingdom) was expected to remain open for a transitional period but the HQ in London's Stanhope Gate would close. The South African Breweries office in Johannesburg will remain open and will also be used by Anheuser Busch InBev SA/NV (whose corporate HQ is in Leuven, Belgium) as its Africa hub.
Board of directors, management and staffing
Since SABMiller had been acquired on 10 October 2016, and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, there was no longer a need for a board of directors for the former SABMiller. In August 2017, Anheuser Busch InBev had announced that Mauricio Leyva, then the CEO of SAB South Africa, would be the only executive to remain with Anheuser Busch Inbev SA/NV on the new entity's 18 member permanent board. Leyva would become zone president for Middle Americas at Anheuser Busch Inbev SA/NV. News reports indicated that "three ... SABMiller executive committee members - general counsel John Davidson, human resources head Johann Nel and Africa MD Mark Bowman - [would] stay on for a six-month transitional period only".