Dive Brief:
- The CEO of SABMiller said his company's bid for rival Heineken was "assertive, not defensive," and not aimed at protecting SABMiller from a takeover by AB InBev.
- Alan Clark, CEO of the world's second-largest brewer, said mergers and acquisitions were "nothing unusual" and were a "core component" of the company's growth strategy.
- Clark also outlined a vision of increasing SABMiller's beer sales by widening its appeal beyond its core constituency by "appealing to more consumers on more occasions."
Dive Insight:
Clark is correct that M&A is core to SABMiller. It is, after all, a company built almost entirely upon acquisitions, most notably the purchase in 2002 by South Africa's SAB of MillerCoors that gave the company its name.
At the same time, analysts were correct that SABMiller's offer for Heineken, which was promptly rejected, was aimed primarily at protecting the company from a takeover by the world's largest brewer: AB InBev.
The only question here is whether SABMiller can get big enough, fast enough to ward off an offer. And that seems to be what Clark is hinting at in his comments.
