Massive. If there’s one word that sums up the acquisition of U.K.-based brewing company SABMiller plc by Anheuser Busch InBev SA, that is surely it.
Everything about the transaction, which created roles for more than a dozen international law firms, was almost comically oversized. The $106 billion deal is the largest takeover of a U.K. company. It was financed by a $75 billion loan facility and a $46 billion bond offering that was more than $60 billion oversubscribed—the largest commercial loan and the most popular bond issue in history. The combined company will be worth $275 billion.
