Oct 2 - Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of four metal can and lid manufacturing plants from AB InBev's U.S. metal packaging subsidiary, Metal Container Corporation, to Ball Corporation for an aggregate purchase price of 577 million USD.
As part of the transaction, Ball Corporation has entered into a long-term supply agreement to continue to supply Anheuser-Busch InBev with metal beverage cans and lids from the divested plants. Ball has committed, as part of the acquisition agreement, to offer employment to each active employee of the plants.
The sale of this group of soft drinks-focused plants is part of AB InBev’s ongoing de-leveraging program and generates proceeds that will be used to pay down debt incurred as a result of the combination of InBev and Anheuser-Busch.
Deutsche Bank AG and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC acted as financial advisors and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal counsel to Anheuser-Busch InBev.
About Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with an American Depository Receipt secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). It is the leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies. A true consumer-centric, sales driven company, Anheuser-Busch InBev manages a portfolio of nearly 300 brands that includes global flagship brands Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, fast growing multi-country brands like Leffe and Hoegaarden, and strong "local jewels" such as Bud Light, Skol, Brahma, Quilmes, Michelob, Harbin, Sedrin, Klinskoye, Sibirskaya Korona, Chernigivske, and Jupiler, among others. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidiary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer and owner of the global Corona brand. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s dedication to heritage and quality is rooted in brewing traditions that originate from the Den Horen brewery in Leuven, Belgium, dating back to 1366 and the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery, established in 1860 in St. Louis, USA. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, Anheuser-Busch InBev leverages the collective strengths of its 120,000 employees based in operations in over 30 countries across the world. The company strives to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World.