Brewing Giant SABMiller agreed to buy Foster's Group for $10.2 billion

Brewing giant SABMiller on 22 September 2011 agreed to buy reputed beer selling company Foster's Group for price of $10.2 billion.

As part of the deal,Melbournebased Foster's will also return 30 cents a share as a capital return it promised in August 2011 after a tax refund and pay a final dividend of 13.25 cents.The total value of the deal,including debt was pegged at $11.5 billion. The decision to acquire Foster's Group will lead to its biggest ever takeover deal.

SABMiller is at the head of the Australian beer market with a near-50 % share and gives the combined group an uplift from Australia's strong economic growth prospects. the deal is likely to offer outstanding value for Foster's shareholders.

As per SABMiller the deal is part of its strategy of creating an attractive global spread of businesses to add to its operations largely in the emerging markets of Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe, which are leading the recovery in the beer market worldwide.

The London-based brewer of Peroni, Miller Lite and Grolsch launched its initial bid for Foster's at US$9.5 billion, or $4.90 a share, on 21 June 2011 and then went hostile by taking the offer direct to shareholders at the same price on 17 August 2011 but Foster's rejected both as being too low.