Sullivan & Cromwell and Allen & Overy have the lead roles on Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.’s $5.25 billion bond offering to finance its acquisition of South Korea’s Oriental Brewery Co. Ltd.
A week ago, AB InBev announced it was buying back Oriental Brewery, maker of popular Korean beer brands including Cass and OB Golden Lager, for $5.8 billion from private equity firms KKR & Co. and Affinity Equity Partners. The transaction will be the largest ever foreign acquisition in Korea in terms of value.
The former InBev first acquired Oriental Brewery in 1998 but then sold it in 2009 to KKR for $1.8 billion as part of a deleveraging ahead of its $52 billion acquisition of American brewing giant Anheuser-Busch. KKR subsequently sold half its stake in Oriental Brewery to Affinity, an Asia-focused buyout firm.
The bond issue to finance AB InBev’s reacquisition will be divided into six tranches, with maturities ranging from three to 30 years.
Sullivan & Cromwell London partner George White is leading the team advising AB InBev.
Allen & Overy London partner Adam Kupitz is advising underwriters Barclays Plc, Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank A.G., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
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