London-based SABMiller plc announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has given its clearance for the proposed combination of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), Leuven, Belgium, and SABMiller. 

As part of the consent decree and consistent with AB InBev’s approach to proactively address potential regulatory concerns, AB InBev has agreed, among other conditions, to divest SABMiller’s U.S. interest in MillerCoors to Denver-based Molson Coors Brewing Co., it says. This divestiture, which previously was announced between AB InBev and Molson Coors, is conditional on the successful closing of the combination of AB InBev with SABMiller.

AB InBev now has obtained approval in 21 jurisdictions. Clearance decisions, with or without conditions, have now been obtained in the following jurisdictions: North America (United States and Canada); Asia-Pacific (Australia, India, and South Korea); Africa (Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa); Europe (the European Union, Albania, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine); and Latin America (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay). Approval in Ecuador is subject to certain conditions. 

In the remaining jurisdictions where regulatory clearance still is pending, AB InBev will continue to proactively engage with the relevant authorities to address their concerns in order to obtain the necessary clearances as quickly as possible, it says.