The Russian government has reportedly blocked Anadolu Efes’ move to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev’s stake in their Russian joint venture.
A government commission, chaired by finance minister Anton Siluanov is said to have stopped the deal from going through in a meeting on 20 June, according to local newspaper RBC.
Sources close to the matter did not specify the reasons for the refusal, RBC reported.
The deal – agreed last December – would see Efes Brewing International, a subsidiary of Anadolu Efes, acquire AB InBev’s 50% share of their AB InBev Efes venture.
However, in a statement to Turkey’s stock exchange today (6 August), Anadolu Efes said “there [has] been news in the media indicating that the transaction was rejected by the regulatory bodies; however, we have not received any official response as such.”
It added: "As formerly stated, the completion of the transaction was contingent upon obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals. The legal process was initiated on December 19, 2023."
The Efes Pilsen producer suspended trading earlier today in Istanbul before releasing its statement.
The Russian Ministry of Finance and AB InBev could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.
When the deal was agreed upon last year, AB InBev said “no amount will be paid on closing” but added: “Any payments received by ABI after completion will be subject to additional regulatory approvals and are expected to be not material.”
In a separate filing in Turkey, Anadolu Efes indicated a valuation had been set at between $1.1bn and $1.3bn. According to Bloomberg, the valuation had been set by KPMG after a request from Anadolu Efes.
The filing added: “EBI shall not make an immediate cash payment upon completion of the transaction and any future payments shall be determined based on the annual cash flow performance of AB InBev Efes BV’s operating countries and related regulatory restrictions for a certain and reasonable period of time.”
AB InBev and Anadolu Efes formed the AB InBev Efes joint venture in 2018. The business has 11 breweries in Russia, selling beer under brands including Klinskoe and Efes Pilsen.
In April 2022, weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Belgium-based brewer announced its intent to sell its shareholding in the venture and the start of talks with Anadolu Efes. As part of the negotiations, the production and sales of flagship brand Budweiser, marketed as ‘Bud’ in Russia, stopped.
AB InBev booked a $1.1bn non-cash impairment charge in the non-underlying share of results of associates as part of its results for the first quarter of 2022.
