The long, boozy corporate courtship is finally getting serious.
SABMiller, parent company of party-friendly beers like Coors and Miller High Life, has tentatively agreed to merge with Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the world's largest brewer and owner of Budweiser and Stella Artois, after nearly a month of failed advances and increasingly expensive commitments from the latter.
Under the terms of the agreement, Anheuser-Busch will pay roughly $104 billion to acquire SABMiller and create its idea of a happy ending: a global beer powerhouse. The deal represents the fifth approach from Anheuser-Busch and comes in just before what was effectively last call at the bar.
Act 1: A bold declaration of love
The dance of beer giants began in mid-September with Anheuser-Busch boldly declaring its "intention" to the world to woo and acquire SABMiller.
Both businesses have gone through their own corporate marriages before to become as big as they are. But were they really ready to marry again?
SABMiller adopted a cold stance at first. Citing UK law, the company said Anheuser-Busch had until end of day on October 14 to make a good offer. Put up or shut up.
Act 2: Playing hard to get
Most watching the courtship unfold assumed it would happen. It was just a matter of making an offer good enough to appease Jan du Plessis, the recently named chairman of SABMiller who was playing hard to get.
Anheuser-Busch made a four "highly attractive proposals" to SABMiller in the following weeks, gradually raising the price per share until the deal totaled more than $100 billion.
And still SABMiller said no, noting just last week that the mega-offer "still very substantially undervalues" the company and "its unique and unmatched" strengths.
Anheuser-Busch finally agreed to let SABMiller shareholders receive dividend payments until the deal closes -- an unusual arrangement -- and a $3 billion breakup fee (just in case!) that helped seal the deal.
Act 3: But what will our families think?