SABMiller and AB InBev extend takeover deadline

London-listed brewer SABMiller has secured another deadline extension from the Takeover Panel for Anheuser-Busch InBev to make a formal offer to the company, as the two look to iron out the details and get shareholder backing for the £68bn deal.

The companies said in a joint statement that the Takeover Panel has agreed to push back the deadline from this Thursday at 1700 GMT to 11 November.

SABMiller and AB InBev said they have made “good progress” in agreeing the terms of the possible offer which will be set out in detail in any announcement of a firm intention to make an offer, but that they need more time to finalise the discussions and satisfy pre-conditions.

AB InBev has offer £44 per SABMiller share, which is a premium of around 50% to SABMiller’s closing price before the approach was first announced.

At 0827 GMT, SABMiller shares were down 0.2% at 4,004.17p and AB Inbev was 0.4% higher at 108.95p.