Altria to sell down stake in AB InBev

Trading in Anheuser-Busch InBev was temporarily suspended on Thursday, after Marlboro maker Altria Group announced plans to sell down its stake in the brewing giant.

The US tobacco firm, which owns around 10% of AB InBev, said it planned to sell 35m of the 197m shares it currently holds.

Based on the last closing price, the sale is understood to be worth around $2.26bn, according to Reuters.

Billy Gifford, Altria chief executive, said: "As good stewards of shareholder capital, we consistently review options to unlock the value of our investment, and we believe this is an opportunistic transaction that realises a portion of the substantial return on our long-term investment.

"Over the decades of our ownership, the beer investment has provided significant income and cash returns and supported our strong balance sheet.

"Our continued investment reflects ongoing confident in AB InBev."

Announcing the decision in a brief statement late on Wednesday, Altria said it planned to sell some of the American depositary shares in the US as well as conducting a private placement for the Belgian brewer’s ordinary shares in Europe and the UK.

AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, has also agreed to repurchase $200m of ordinary shares from Altria upon completion of the offering.

As at 1100 GMT, Altria’s shares were flat in pre-marking trading, while AB InBev’s US-traded shares were down 3%.

Its European shares were suspended on the request of Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority. AB InBev said the regulator had requested that trading be temporarily paused until pricing details were released, likely later on Thursday.

AB InBev’s brands include Stella Artois, Corona and Budweiser.