SABMiller shareholders can be treated as two separate groups when they vote on the brewer’s £79bn (€91bn) takeover by Anheuser Busch InBev, a court in London has ruled, granting a request from SAB aimed at making the vote as fair as possible.

SABMiller’s board will review its $107bn (€97.19bn) merger deal with Anheuser Busch InBev once all regulatory approvals have been secured, its chairman said yesterday.

SABMiller, the brewer that is due to be bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev later this year, reported a decline in full-year profit as it was saddled with charges related to some African operations and costs associated with the takeover.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the beermaker in talks to buy SABMiller for $107bn (€101bn), may sell the Peroni and Grolsch brands as it works to gain regulatory clearance to combine the world’s biggest brewers, people familiar with the matter said.

Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev said it will sell off SABMiller’s US joint venture as it agreed the final terms of its £71bn (€114bn) mammoth takeover of the London-listed beer giant.

The world’s two largest beer giants have secured a week’s extension to agree their £68 (€93.9bn) billion mega-merger after SABMiller accepted a sweetened offer from rival and Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Beer giants SABMiller and Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev have 'agreed in principle' on a £68bn blockbuster tie-up to create the world's biggest drinks firm.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s chief executive says a study of SABMiller’s African beer markets and talks with top shareholders led to an “alignment of stars” that drew it to its nearest rival.

The world’s largest brewer wanted to keep the biggest deal of the year under wraps. Market chatter and the UK’s unique takeover rules got in the way.

Miller, Coors Light and Grolsch firm SABMiller said Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev was planning a takeover bid for the group.