SABMiller grew from its original South African base into a global company with operations in both developed markets and emerging economies such as Eastern Europe, China and India. It is one of the world's largest brewers, with brewing interests and distribution agreements across six continents.
In August 2016, after the plans for acquiring SABMiller had been established by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company said it would close SABMiller's regional offices in Miami, Hong Kong and Beijing after the acquisition deal closed in October 2016. Plans had not yet been revealed for the operation in Zug, Switzerland which controlled SABMiller's central & eastern European beer brands. However, the subsequent sale of much of the business in such countries to Asahi Breweries may affect the Zug operation. The office in Woking (UK) was expected to remain open for a transitional period but the HQ in London's Stanhope Gate would close. The office in Johannesburg was expected to remain open for use by the Anheuser Busch Inbev SA/NV as its Africa hub.
Operations in some of the following regions may also be affected by the Anheuser Busch Inbev SA/NV owners in future.
SABMiller's brewing operations in Africa spanned 31 countries. In China, the group's national brand, Snow beer, was produced in partnership with China Resources Enterprise Limited, with SABMiller owning 49 per cent; this is the leading brand by volume in China. Before acquiring SAB Miller, AB InBev had agreed to sell its interests in Snow to China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co for $1.6 billion to satisfy regulators. The deal closed on 12 October 2016.
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SABMiller was the second-largest brewer in India and had joint ventures in Vietnam and Australia.
South Africa was SABMiller's most established market with brands including Castle Lager, Castle 1895, Castle Milk Stout, Hansa Marzen Gold, Hansa Pilsener, Carling Black Label, Carling Blue Label, Castle Lite, Redd's, Peroni, Brutal Fruit, Flying Fish, Liberado, and Carver's Weiss. The South African Breweries company is now a distinct entity, a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV which had made commitments to the South African Competition Tribunal to maintain a stable employee level.
The soft drink division was a large producer of products for The Coca-Cola Company in Africa, although operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho were sold to the Coca-Cola Company in late 2016.
According to recent reports, Coca-Cola paid $3.15 billion to acquire AB InBev's stake (from the former SABMiller) in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
Australia
In September 2011, the board of Foster's Group agreed to a takeover bid by SABMiller, valuing the company at A$9.9bn (US$10.2bn; £6.5bn). The Foster's Group, now known as Carlton & United Brewing was a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV until July 2020 when it was sold to Asahi Global.
Brands include:
Carlton Draught, Cascade Draught (see Cascade Brewery), Foster's Lager, Melbourne Bitter, Pure Blonde, Victoria Bitter, and the Matilda Bay Brewing Company portfolio.
Europe
As part of the agreements made with regulators before Anheuser-Busch InBev was allowed to acquire SABMiller, the company sold the Peroni, Meantime and Grolsch brands to Asahi Breweries of Japan on 13 October 2016.
After acquiring SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV agreed on 21 December 2016 to sell the former SABMiller Ltd. business in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania to Asahi for US$7.8 billion. The deal includes popular brands such as Pilsner Urquell, Tyskie, Lech, Dreher, Ursus, Timisoreana and Kozel. The breweries in the sale include Pilsner Urquell, Kompania Piwowarska, Ursus, Topvar and Dreher.
Latin America
SABMiller first entered the Latin American market with the acquisition of Cervecería La Constancia from El Salvador and Cervecería Hondureña in Honduras, making the company the first international brewer to enter Central America. Since then, the group has expanded its Latin American operations into six countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru.
Lager brands include:
Isenbeck (Argentina), Aguila, Club Colombia, Costeña, Poker, Pilsen (Colombia), Cristal, Pilsen Callao, Pilsen Trujillo, Cusqueña, Arequipeña (Peru), Pilsener, Club (Ecuador), Pilsener, Regia, Suprema, Golden Light (El Salvador), Port Royal, Salva Vida, Imperial, Barena (Honduras), Atlas (Panama), and Balboa (Panama).
North America
On 9 October 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors announced a joint venture to be known as MillerCoors. US antitrust regulators approved the joint venture on 5 June 2008. The merger was completed on 30 June 2008 and MillerCoors began operation as a combined entity on 1 July 2008. The combined venture was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Prior to the sale to Anheuser-Busch Inbev in October 2016, the brands included:
Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Olde English 800, Milwaukee's Best, Miller Chill, Hamm's, and Leinenkugel.
As per the agreement with the regulators prior to the 2016 sale, the company sold to Molson Coors full ownership of the Miller brand portfolio outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico for US$12 billion. Molson Coors also retained "the rights to all of the brands currently in the MillerCoors portfolio for the U.S. and Puerto Rico."
