InBev Sells Africa Assets to Coca Cola, Italy Approves

Sarla Buch
21 Dec, 2016
New York City

AB InBev agreed to sell its 54.5% stake of African assets to the Coca-Cola for $3.2 billion. Allergan agreed to acquire LifeCell for $2.9 billion. Meggitt sell its Target Systems division to QinetiQ for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – AB InBev agreed to sell its 54.5% stake of African assets to the Coca-Cola for $3.2 billion. Allergan agreed to acquire LifeCell for $2.9 billion. Meggitt sell its Target Systems division to QinetiQ for £57.5 million. Italian parliament approved €20 billion bailout for sick banks.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index fell 9.81 to 7,033.39 and in Frankfurt the DAX index edged down 4.61 to 11,460.01.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slipped 21.33 or 0.4% to 4,828.38.

Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV, the Belgium-based brewers agreed to sell its 54.5% stake in Africa''s largest Coke bottler to the Coca-Cola Company, Inc for about $3.15 billion.

In addition, The Coca-Cola Company also agreed to acquire AB InBev’s stake in bottling operations in Botswana, El Salvador, Honduras Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe for an undisclosed amount.

The transactions are expected to close by the end of 2017.

Allergan Plc, the Ireland-based privately held specialty biopharmaceutical group agreed to acquire the regenerative medicine company LifeCell for $2.9 billion in cash.

The transaction is expected to close during the first-half of 2017

Meggitt Plc declined 1.1% to 466.70 pence after the U.K.-based car and aeroplane parts maker divested its Target Systems division to defence outsourcer QinetiQ Group Plc for about £57.5million or $71 million in cash.

Meggitt said it also agreed with the trustee to pay £10.2 million of the sale proceeds into the company''s pension plan to reduce the pension deficit.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA was halted on Wednesday morning after Italy-based banking and financial services provider warned that the bank is likely to run out of cash at a faster pace than previously forecasted pace after the bank failed to raise €5 billion from private investors.

European Central Bank has set the deadline for the bank to raise €5 billion by the year-end.

The stock tumbled 86% this year and dropped additional 19% to €15 which is the lowest since they start to trade in 1999.

The bank said the expected net liquidity position is now €10.6 billion and it is likely to turn negative in next four months.

However, today the Italian parliament approved possible bailout package of about €20 billion or £16.8 billion for its weaker banks, and likely to rescue the country''s third largest lender by the end of next week.