Anheuser-Busch InBev kept up the pressure on SABMiller yesterday, raising its takeover bid offer again in hopes of enticing its brewing rival to engage in talks ahead of a looming deadline for the deal this week.

The world’s largest brewer made its fourth bid in a matter of weeks for SABMiller, saying that it was willing to pay as much as $103 billion in a complicated cash-and-stock deal.

It would offer £43.50 per share in cash to most shareholders, an improvement from the £42.15 it put forward last week. It has previously offered £38 and then £40 a share in what would rank as the biggest ever UK company takeover.

The latest approach came as AB InBev, the brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois, is facing a deadline tomorrow to make what is considered a formal offer for SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewer, under British takeover rules, or to walk away for up to six months.

Under British law, its prior proposals have not been considered formal offers.

Three of SABMiller’s top 10 shareholders had spoken out in support of the board rejecting the previous offer, which SABMiller said “very substantially” undervalued the company.

SABMiller did not comment yesterday.

Buying SABMiller would give AB InBev more exposure to faster-growing emerging markets, particularly in Latin American and Africa.

The prospect of any deal happening may come down to SABMiller’s two largest shareholders – US tobacco giant Altria and the Santo Domingo family of Colombia. Combined, they own about 41 per cent of SABMiller’s outstanding shares.

AB InBev has tailored its takeover bid in hopes of winning their support, offering the option for Altria and the Santo Domingo family to accept restricted shares, rather than a large cash payment, to help major shareholders avoid large tax bills they would incur if they sold their entire holdings. – (New York Times service)