The European Commission is likely to approve the proposed merger of AB InBev and SABMiller, following the companies' efforts to address the regulator's competition concerns.
AB InBev had planned sale of several brands such as Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands, which will be sold to Japanese brewer Asahi, along with some of SABMiller's Eastern European beer brands.
In April, the European Commission's competition regulator disclosed that it had set a deadline of 24 May to give its verdict on the takeover, theshout.com.au reported.
Earlier this month, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had approved the £71bn merger of Anheuser Busch InBev and SABMiller, after deciding that the deal would not affect the domestic market.
ACCC's decision came after AB InBev served notices to end the agreements with Lion for distribution of Corona beer and other AB InBev brands in Australia.
The ACCC was concerned about the continuation of distribution agreements between the two companies, as the proposed acquisition could have strengthened Lion and AB InBev/SABMiller partnership.
AB InBev is expected to sell SABMiller's remaining European drinks this week in a £5bn auction.
The Belgium brewer has told the European Commission that it would sell the brands, which include the Polish brew Lech and Czech beer Pilsner Urquell, if the deal goes through, reported cityam.com.
A few days ago, AB InBev had entered into an agreement with Ambev, through which it would transfer SABMiller's Panamanian business to Ambev, in exchange for Ambev's businesses in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.
The arrangement would enable AB InBev to focus on countries where SABMiller businesses are well-established and facilitate Ambev to begin operations in Panama. This would be done through the establishment of SABMiller business and further expansion of its businesses in Central America.
This deal is subject to the closure of the AB InBev-SABMiller merger, along with other customary closing conditions.
