By Brewbound
Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) (“Molson Coors” or “the Company”) announced the successful completion of its previously announced acquisition of SABMiller plc’s (LSE: SAB; JSE: SAB) (“SABMiller”) 58% stake in MillerCoors LLC (“MillerCoors”), the joint venture formed in the United States and Puerto Rico by both companies in 2008.
As part of the transaction, Molson Coors also gains full ownership of the Miller brand portfolio outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and retains the rights to all of the brands currently in the MillerCoors portfolio for the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including Redd’s and import brands such as Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.
Molson Coors is now the third largest global brewer by enterprise value and the sole owner of MillerCoors, which will continue to operate as separate business unit of Molson Coors and will retain its name and headquarters in Chicago.
“Today represents a historic moment in the evolution of Molson Coors as we emerge as the world’s third largest brewer by bringing together Molson Coors and MillerCoors into a bigger, better organization,” stated Mark Hunter, president and chief executive officer of Molson Coors. “As one company with an expanded portfolio of iconic brands and a highly focused leadership team, we intend to leverage our increased scale, resources and combined commercial experience to accelerate our First Choice agenda and deliver long term shareholder value.”
Hunter concluded, “Having successfully operated the MillerCoors joint venture since 2008, we know the business well and have been working to ensure that today represents a seamless transition for our customers, partners, distributors and employees. It will really be business as usual, with an energized team that is playing to win and committed to setting the bar even higher for the future of our business.”
