Belgian brewing giant Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev on Friday morning listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) main board, with an opening price of R1938 a share.<\/p>\n
The R3 trillion listing is a culmination of AB InBev’s takeover of brewer SABMiller. As part of the planned acquisition, AB InBev pledged to list the combined entity in South Africa.<\/p>\n
AB InBev agreed to buy SABMiller for \u00a368bn (now R1.62trn) in October with a \u00a344 (now R1,048) offer. SAB\u2019s share price on the JSE propelled from R610 in August to R966.53 by Friday.<\/p>\n
AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito said the listing was a demonstration of the company’s commitment to South Africa and Africa, “which is central to the rationale of the deal”.<\/p>\n
He said it also demonstrated the company’s vote of confidence in South Africa as an investment destination.<\/p>\n
JSE CEO Nicky Newton-King said the fast-tracked listing, which took 21 days complete, sets the bar high for the bourse, which seeks to attract major listings.<\/p>\n
AB InBev is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies.<\/p>\n
The listing comes after US competition officials started an investigation of the planned takeover, seeking additional information related to the deal.<\/p>\n
AB InBev and SABMiller expect to close the transaction in the second half of this year, a person who remained anonymous, told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
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