SABMiller discloses USD 191 million deal with Meantime

A heady sum. It’s finally been revealed what SABMiller paid for the London craft brewer Meantime last year. According to SABMiller’s annual report 2016, published on 20 June 2016, the company spent USD 191 million on the Meantime business and its assets. When the acquisition was announced in May 2015, both companies declined to disclose financial details. Guesses ranged between GBP 20 and 40 million (USD 61 million) for a 100,000 hl beer business (2015).

How wrong and far off the mark pundits were. “In June 2015, the group acquired 100% of Meantime Brewing Co, a modern UK craft brewer, with a brewery in Greenwich, London, and a number of retail sites for consideration of USD 191 million net of cash acquired,” SABMiller’s report states.

Since the purchase, AB-InBev’s pending takeover of SABMiller has led to Meantime being put up for sale again, along with SABMiller’s other European businesses Grolsch and Peroni, in order to appease Europe’s competition regulators. In April 2016, AB-InBev accepted a USD 2.55 billion offer from Japan’s brewer Asahi for the three brands.