SABMiller pauses integration with AB InBev

SABMiller has paused integration work with brewing giant AB InBev, according to media reports on Wednesday, after AB InBev raised its takeover offer due to the plunge in the pound after the Brexit vote.

London-based SABMiller has asked its employees to halt work on integrating finance, technology, procurement and some supply-chain functions, according to reports in Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal said the decision was taken "following AB InBev's announcement that its revised offer for SABMiller was final" on Tuesday.

Contacted by AFP, a SABMiller spokesman declined to comment.

Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's top brewer, owns the Budweiser and Stella Artois brands.

The company said it was raising its all cash offer for SABMiller from 44 pounds per share to 45 pounds in what was its final proposal.

The transaction now values SABMiller's entire "issued and to be issued" share capital at around £79 billion ($103 billion), AB InBev said.

That includes a restricted share offer that is less attractive to investors as they must wait five years before cashing out.

SABMiller said that its board would consult with shareholders before giving an answer.

AB InBev agreed in November to buy SABMiller, whose brands include Foster's, Grolsch and Peroni.

The brewer said the new offer represents a premium of approximately 53 percent to SABMiller's closing share price when news of the negotiations first broke in September last year.

The deal is expected to boost world-leader AB InBev's prospects in developing markets in Africa and China.

AB InBev's acquisition of SABMiller is in line to be the third largest in history if it clears all regulatory hurdles.

But the deal's value fell sharply given the plunge in the value of the pound after Britain's vote to leave the European Union.