Grupo Modelo has agreed to sell to A-B InBev

Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to buy the 50% share in Grupo Modelo it does not already own in a deal worth US$20.1bn. 

Under the deal, announced this morning (29 June), A-B InBev will pay US$9.15 per share in cash. Separately, Grupo Modelo will sell its 50% stake in Crown Imports LLC to Constellation Brands for US$1.85bn. 

Grupo Modelo's name will be retained and its headquarters will remain in Mexico City, A-B InBev confirmed. The Budwesier brewer said it expected the combination to yield annual synergies of "at least US$600m". 

Carlos Brito, A-B InBev's CEO, said: “There is tremendous opportunity from combining two leading brand portfolios and further expanding Grupo Modelo’s brands worldwide through AB InBev’s extensive global distribution network." 

The two companies have endured a fractious relationship in recent years, after Modelo became part of the merged A-B InBev in 2008. But speculation arose earlier this week that a deal could be on. 

Carlos Fernández, Grupo Modelo's chairman and CEO said today: “We have worked together with Anheuser-Busch InBev in a productive decades-long partnership, and it is time to cement our relationship through this merger.”

The deal is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2013.