SABMiller plc was a multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's second-largest brewer measured by revenues (after Anheuser-Busch InBev) and was also a major bottler of Coca-Cola.
Its brands included Fosters, Miller, and Pilsner Urquell.[2] It operated in 80 countries worldwide and in 2009 sold around 21 billion litres of beverages.Since 10 October 2016, SABMiller has been a business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, a Brazilian-Belgian corporation with headquarters in Leuven.
SABMiller was founded as South African Breweries in 1895 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. From the early 1990s onwards, 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.
The acquisition of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev on October 10, 2016 ended the corporate use of the name SABMiller; this entity became a business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (abbreviated as AB InBev) began trading on the Brussels Stock Exchange as ABI, as BUD on the New York stock exchange and as ANH on the Johannesburg market.SABMiller ceased trading on global stock markets.
The company 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 October 12, 2016. On the same day, the sale of SABMiller's 49 percent share in the world's largest volume beer brand, Snow beer to China Resources Enterprise was also closed.
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is also selling much of an SABMiller's subsidiary that was bottling and distributing Coca-Cola to the Coca-Cola Company. The affected regions include Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras.
Companies such as South African Breweries and Foster's Group that were subsidiaries of SABMiller, and were not sold after SABMiller was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, are now subsidiaries of AB InBev.
