DENVER & MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) (“Molson Coors” or “the Company”) today announced the successful completion of its previously announced acquisition of SABMiller plc’s (LSE: SAB; JSE: SAB) (“SABMiller”) 58% stake in MillerCoors LLC (“MillerCoors”), the joint venture formed in the United States and Puerto Rico by both companies in 2008.
As part of the transaction, Molson Coors also gains full ownership of the Miller brand portfolio outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and retains the rights to all of the brands currently in the MillerCoors portfolio for the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including Redd’s and import brands such as Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.
Molson Coors is now the third largest global brewer by enterprise value and the sole owner of MillerCoors, which will continue to operate as separate business unit of Molson Coors and will retain its name and headquarters in Chicago.
“Today represents a historic moment in the evolution of Molson Coors as we emerge as the world’s third largest brewer by bringing together Molson Coors and MillerCoors into a bigger, better organization,” stated Mark Hunter, president and chief executive officer of Molson Coors. “As one company with an expanded portfolio of iconic brands and a highly focused leadership team, we intend to leverage our increased scale, resources and combined commercial experience to accelerate our First Choice agenda and deliver long term shareholder value.”
Hunter concluded, “Having successfully operated the MillerCoors joint venture since 2008, we know the business well and have been working to ensure that today represents a seamless transition for our customers, partners, distributors and employees. It will really be business as usual, with an energized team that is playing to win and committed to setting the bar even higher for the future of our business.”
Molson Coors has been advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, McCarthy Tétrault, Perkins Coie LLP and UBS Investment Bank.
About Molson Coors
Molson Coors Brewing Company is a leading international brewer delivering extraordinary brands that delight the world's beer drinkers. It brews, markets and sells a portfolio of leading premium brands such as Coors Light, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian, Carling, Staropramen and Blue Moon across The Americas, Europe and Asia. It operates in Canada through Molson Coors Canada; in the US through MillerCoors; across Europe through Molson Coors Europe; and outside these core markets through Molson Coors International. The company was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past five years and named global Beverage Sector Leader in 2012 and 2013. For the past two years, the company was the only alcohol producer recognized on the Index for world class sustainability performance. For more information on Molson Coors Brewing Company visit the company's website, http://molsoncoors.com or http://ourbeerprint.com
Forward Looking Statement
This presentation includes estimates or projections that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,” "expect,” "intend,” "anticipate,” “project,” “will,” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historic in nature. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s historical experience, and present projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These factors include, among others, our ability to successfully integrate the acquisition; our ability to achieve expected tax benefits, accretion and cost synergies; impact of increased competition resulting from further consolidation of brewers, competitive pricing and product pressures; health of the beer industry and our brands in our markets; economic conditions in our markets; additional impairment charges; our ability to maintain manufacturer/distribution agreements; changes in our supply chain system; availability or increase in the cost of packaging materials; success of our joint ventures; risks relating to operations in developing and emerging markets; changes in legal and regulatory requirements, including the regulation of distribution systems; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; increase in the cost of commodities used in the business; the impact of climate change and the availability and quality of water; loss or closure of a major brewery or other key facility; our ability to implement our strategic initiatives, including executing and realizing cost savings; our ability to successfully integrate newly acquired businesses; pension plan costs; failure to comply with debt covenants or deterioration in our credit rating; our ability to maintain good labor relations; our ability to maintain brand image, reputation and product quality; lack of full-control over the operations of MillerCoors and other risks discussed in our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2015, which is available from the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
