AB InBev to retain its name after SABMiller takeover

The logo of Anheuser-Busch InBev is pictured outside the brewer’s headquarters in Leuven, Belgium February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR said on Wednesday that it would retain its existing name after a planned $100-billion-plus takeover of rival SABMiller SAB.L.

SABMiller shareholders will vote on Wednesday on whether to accept AB InBev’s 45 pound-per-share offer for the world’s second-largest brewer, as well as an alternative partly composed of AB InBev shares.

Preceding that vote AB InBev held a meeting of its shareholders to approve the mechanics of the transaction.

AB InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito, who will head the combined company, outlined the rationale for the deal – including the creation of the first global brewer with new fast-growing African and Latin American markets – before announcing that the name Anheuser-Busch would remain.

The brewer of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois has undergone a series of name changes – from Interbrew to InBev after a 2004 merger with Brazil-based AmBev and then to its current name after its 2008 purchase of Budweiser maker Anheuser Busch.

Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Jason Neely

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