Merger to create global beer behemoth nearing U.S. approval

The Justice Department is poised to approve Anheuser-Busch InBev’s takeover of SABMiller in an agreement that may include measures to keep the beer behemoth from edging craft brewers from shelves, according to people familiar with the matter.

U.S. clearance of the $107 billion combination is on track for later this month, according to three people familiar with the process. The accord could include limits on the combined company’s ownership of distributors, said one of the people.

U.S. antitrust approval would bring the maker of Budweiser a step closer to completing the industry’s biggest merger ever and redraw control of the global beer market. The merged company will be followed by Heineken and Molson Coors Brewing in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots by market capitalization.

Following divestitures to win regulatory approvals, the deal will keep Budweiser, Beck’s and Stella Artois under AB InBev’s roof, while selling brands including Miller in the U.S.

The transaction, which was agreed to in November 2015 in a bid to boost sales by gaining access to emerging markets, has already won antitrust approval in more than a dozen jurisdictions, including the European Union.

In the U.S., smaller brewers raised concerns about the merger from the start, complaining about AB InBev’s ownership of wholesalers and the incentives it offers to distributors to promote its own brands. The Brewers Association, which represents 2,800 craft brewers, complained during a Senate hearing in December that those rewards effectively limit the sales of competing beers.