Megabrewers AB-InBev and SABMiller did some asset-swapping with Brazilian brewer AmBev, in which AB-InBev holds a majority stake, ahead of the proposed combination of the British and Belgian companies.

Despite several rebirths over the past two decades – from Brouwerij Palm to Palm Breweries to Palm Belgian Craft Brewers in 2014 – the Belgian brewing group Palm has seen its beer volumes decline and has finally sought rescue under the wings of the Dutch brewing group Bavaria.

Those who wondered if AB-InBev were to keep SABMiller’s Pilsner Urquell brand after the takeover can now rest assured: they won’t. On 29 April 2016 AB-InBev announced it has offered to sell all of SABMiller’s assets in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, including the rights to Pilsner Urquell outside the United States. Within the U.S. AB-InBev has already agreed to sell Pilsner Urquell to Molson Coors as part of a larger deal divesting its stake in MillerCoors. The job lot also includes brands such as Polish beers Tyskie and Lech, Hungarian beer Dreher, and the Romanian beer brand Ursus. The assets could fetch between USD 5 billion and USD 8 billion, according to analysts’ estimates.

Krones AG, Neutraubling/Germany, has purchased 60 % of the shares in System Logistics S.p.A. The company, an international supplier of innovative solutions for intralogistics, material flow technology, and warehousing, is based in Fiorano, in Northern Italy. A majority of the customers come from the food and beverage industries. In 2015, the company achieved a turnover of around 100 million euros, with a workforce of more than 250 employees.

So now it’s Italy. Having almost “rolled up” the U.S. craft beer industry, AB-InBev has turned its attention to Italy, where it clinched a deal with Birra del Borgo, one of the most well-known craft breweries in Italy. The transaction was confirmed by AB-InBev on 22 April 2016. No financial details were disclosed.

Seemingly undeterred by the protracted takeover, SABMiller on 21 April 2016 reported it suffered a drop in group Net Producer Revenue (NPR) in its recently-ended financial year, but achieved growth in beverage volume sales. Like other brewers, SABMiller was once again hit by unfavourable foreign exchange rates.

If international media coverage is an indication, the German Reinheitsgebot for beer (the so-called purity law) has lost its relevance to consumers around the world – assuming that it ever had one. Especially in the U.S., reports on the celebrations to mark its 500th anniversary were scarce and few in between, the reason being that the U.S., thanks to the craft brewers, has managed to establish a beer culture so vibrant and innovative that it can put Germany to shame.

Guerrilla marketing, or what? To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the often misinterpreted Reinheitsgebot, the Californian craft brewer Stone opened the summer season in Berlin with a series of "rebellious" beers, which were brewed using more unconventional ingredients.

Let’s hope the Japanese know what they are doing. On 19 April 2016 AB-InBev said it has accepted an offer from Japan’s brewer Asahi for the European beer brands Peroni and Grolsch. Terms of the deal were not released, but AB-InBev in February said Asahi had offered EUR 2.55 billion (USD 2.8 billion) for the brands.

What’s it about 2020? That year AB-InBev hopes to generate revenue of USD 100 billion. Readers will remember Coca-Cola’s ambitious Vision 2020, unveiled in 2009, which called for the revenue generated by the company and its bottlers to double to roughly USD 200 billion by 2020. For several years, Coke’s own revenue has declined and it’s more than doubtful that Coke will ever achieve this target.