SABMiller - History

History

The origins of the company date back to the foundation of South African Breweries in 1895 in South Africa. For many decades the operations of South African Breweries were mainly limited to southern Africa, where it had established a dominant position in the market, until 1990 when it began investing in Europe.

After listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1999 to raise capital for acquisitions, the group purchased the Miller Brewing Company in North America from the Altria Group in 2002, and changed its name to SABMiller.

Following this, the group’s next major acquisition was of a major interest in Bavaria S. A., South America’s second largest brewer and owner of the Aguila and Club Colombia brands in 2005.

The company became engaged in the hostile takeover of Fosters in August 2011, and in September 2011 the board of Foster's agreed to a takeover bid valuing the company at A$9.9bn (US$10.2bn; £6.5bn). The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, but to exclude the Foster's lager brand in the UK and Europe, where it is owned by Heineken.

In November 2011, SABMiller launched Impala Cervejas in Africa, the first commercially produced cassava beer, although Africans have been making cassava home brews for generations. The taste is described as "somewhat bitter, somewhat tangy, not sweet".