In the course of the takeover of SABMiller through ist opponent AB InBev the new owner wipes out nearly all roots of the current number two in the international beer market. Basics of the new structure were currently revealed.
First of all the name SABMiller will disappear completely. Contrary to previous major takeovers and mergers (Interbrew, Ambev, Anheuser Busch) the name of the takeover target will not form part of the new company name. Secondly the head office od SABMiller in Woking, 50 kilometers south west of London, as well as the regional offices for Latin America Miami/Florida, for Asia Pacific in Hong Kong and the China office in Beijing will be closed after a transitional period. The future of the regional office for Europe in Zug/Switzerland is still open and will be determined after the divestment of the Central and East European activities.
Also the new Executive Board of Management of AB InBev does not reflect a lot of the old SABMiller spirit. The list of board members which will be enlarged from 17 to 20 shows only one former SABMiller executive: Mauricio Leyva, currently SABMiller’s Chairman and Managing Director for South Africa will take up the role as Zone President Middle Americas based in Mexico. It seems clear that there is also no seat reserved for current SABMiller CEO Alan Clark.
Besides largely foregoing expertise of the old SABMiller top management the new Executive Board also does not reflect the international diversity of AB InBev operations. 12 of the 20 board members are Brazilian citizens and two are Portuguese who hold an university degree from Brazil, one is another South American from Colombia. They are followed by three US citizens and one citizen from the UK. The last seat is reserved for a Belgium citizen despite the fact that the headquarter will still be based in Leuven/Belgium. No other Europeans are represented on the board as well as none from Asia, Oceania or Africa.
