AB-InBev's takeover of SABMiller finally approved

The wheels of justice grind slowly. Three years after AB-InBev jumped on rival SABMiller, the acquisition got approved at last. In October 2018, the US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan signed what is called a Modified Final Judgment, which means the Department of Justice, or DoJ (which is in charge of anti-trust issues), and AB-InBev managed to hammer out a consent, albeit with some modifications, which are meant to limit the deal's impact on the US beer market.

The final judgement was mainly about distribution. Media reported that it will make it more difficult for AB-InBev to buy distributors, break or negotiate contracts with them, retaliate against wholesalers, require reporting about a distributor's business or give incentives to those beer distributors. The judgment also includes a "Monitoring Trustee", who will have the authority to investigate complaints against the brewer.

Additionally, AB-InBev is not supposed to take over "a beer brewer, importer, distributor, or brand owner that derives more than USD 7.5 million in annual gross revenue from beer sold for further resale in the territory, or from licence fees generated by such beer sales." Funny that. Since the DoJ began its investigation into the SABMiller acquisition in 2016, AB-InBev has bought Asheville's Wicked Weed, SpikedSeltzer and Virtue Cider (the remaining stake).

Twelve organisations and businesses had filed responses, from the Brewers Association and the National Beer Wholesalers Association to brewers Yuengling and Ninkasi.

As was reported, the consent decree will expire in 2026 (ten years overall, from 2016). However, it can also be terminated prematurely in five years if the DoJ concludes that it is no longer in the best interest of the public.