Japanese beer brand’s bid to acquire Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime is the biggest M&A deal in Asahi’s history.

A&O is advising Asahi on its bid for AB InBev’s Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime businesses as part of AB InBev’s divestment strategy in connection with its takeover of SABMiller.

A binding offer agreement has been reached between Asahi and AB InBev, subject to the completion of AB InBev’s acquisition of SABMiller. The transaction is being run as an auction and Asahi won by pre-empting the process and submitting a binding offer ahead of the other auction participants.

The deal, which is the largest acquisition in Asahi’s 127-year history, is transformational for Asahi’s business given the international profile of the brands.

The acquisition is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2016.

A&O is also advising the banks that are funding a USD75bn loan to AB InBev for its merger with SAB Miller.
The A&O team

The A&O cross-border team is led by Corporate partner Richard Hough, supported by Corporate partner Stephen Mathews, senior associate Matthew Appleton, and associates Devika Sahdev, Dougall Meston, Grace Harvey and Anna Montgomery. 

Allen & Overy is also advising on Antitrust (partner Alasdair Balfour), Employment (partner Sarah Henchoz), Banking (partner Trevor Borthwick), transitional services (partner Jim Ford), and Tax (partner Lydia Challen). The Milan A&O team is led by partner Paolo Ghiglione, and in Amsterdam, by partner Tim Stevens with support from partner Godfried Kinnegim. Partner Nick Wall is the lead partner in Tokyo.