
According to Brazilian magazine Veja, billionaire Jorge Lemann is planning to bid on the British business behind Smirnoff, Guinness and Johnnie Walker.
Talk of Lemann, who founded 3G Capital and owns a stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), initiating?such a move comes amid expectations that ABI is preparing to make an acquisition. The Financial Times suggested it was?due to the company deleveraging following its $20bn acquisition of Mexican beer company Modelo in 2012. Other alleged targets are SABMiller?? the brewer of Grolsch, Miller and Peroni?? as well as?PepsiCo?and?Coca-Cola. JP Morgan analyst?Komal Dhillon?claimed that a?Diageo takeover would give ABI exposure to Africa. ?We believe Diageo?s beer assets, which would give ABI a foothold in Africa, could be the main appeal,? he said. However, broker Jefferies thought an outright bid would be unlikely given that?3G would need to raise ?48bn to buy out the company.? Read more about the drinks sector:- Is the pub industry having a renaissance?
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