Bottoms Up

More news about big beer company mergers today. The U.S. Department of Justice has approved a joint venture of MolsonCoors and SAB Miller, merging Miller and Coors operations in the United States. They’ll apparently operate as separate companies outside the U.S. Meanwhile, business publications report that InBev and Anheuser Busch continue to talk about a possible merger.

Here’s the word about Miller-Coors from Brew Blug, a Miller house blog:

SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company today announced that they have been informed by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice that its antitrust review of the proposed MillerCoors joint venture has been completed and the parties can proceed.

MillerCoors will combine the U.S. and Puerto Rico operations of Miller Brewing Company and Coors Brewing Company.

SABMiller and Molson Coors expect the transaction to generate approximately $500 million in annual cost synergies to be delivered in full by the third full financial year of combined operations.

The transaction is expected to close on or about June 30. The two companies will continue to be operated separately and in the ordinary course until the closing.

The leadership team for the new organization will be announced on June 9.

Graham Mackay, SABMiller’s Chief Executive, said: “We are very pleased the U.S. Department of Justice has given us clearance to proceed with the planned MillerCoors joint venture. Today’s news underscores our strong belief that this combination will not only generate significant growth and cost synergies, but will also create tremendous opportunities for innovations in products and services that will greatly benefit America’s beer distributors, retailers and consumers.”

Leo Kiely, Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors, added: “MillerCoors is quickly moving toward becoming a reality, and I’m looking forward to working with the entire team to build on our momentum and grow our leading brands and consumer offerings. While we recognize that regulatory clearance is just one step in creating a dynamic U.S. competitor, it is a critical milestone, and we’re obviously very happy about the outcome. We’re actively engaged in the various planning elements and are ready to get out of the gate smoothly and quickly upon close.”