The new company will account for 29% of the global 198 billion litre beer market*. This will make it more than three times bigger than its nearest rival, Heineken with 9%.

The deal will be a culmination of over a decade of mass consolidation which has seen the top five’s share of global beer volumes rise from 38% in 2005 to 56% following this deal in a category that has grown by 23% over the same period.

It will mean A-B InBev will have the following presence regionally:

• Number 3 in Asia-Pacific with 12% of the region’s 71 billion litre volumes. Five and one percentage point respectively behind Chinese giants China Resources and Tsingtao.
• Number 1 Player in Australasia with 40% of the region’s 2 billion litre volumes. Seven points ahead of Kirin.
• Number 2 in Eastern Europe 23% of the region’s 23 billion litre volumes. One percentage point behind Carlsberg.
• Number 1 player in Latin America with 61% of the region’s 32 billion litre volumes. 48 percentage points ahead of its nearest rival Heineken.
• Number 1 in the Middle East and Africa with 41% of the region’s 13 billion litre volumes. 22 percentage points ahead of its nearest rival Heineken.
• Number 1 player in North America with 45% of the region’s 27 billion litre volumes. 17 percentage points ahead of its nearest rival*an enlarged Molson Coors.
• Number 2 player in Western Europe with 13% of the region’s 28 billion litre market. Three percentage points behind Heineken who lead.

*assumption being that the enlarged brewer will have to divest SABMiller’s US operations to Molson Coors and interest in the SABMiller joint venture with China Resources.