Brazil: AmBev announces the extension of the voluntary offer to purchase any and all outstanding shares of Quinsa
InBev announced on March 16 that AmBev has extended the period of the voluntary offer made by Beverage Associates Holding Ltd. (“BAH”), a Bahamian corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of AmBev, to purchase up to 6,872,480 Class A shares and up to 8,661,207 Class B shares (including Class B shares held as American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”)) of its subsidiary Quilmes Industrial (Quinsa), Société Anonyme (“Quinsa”), which represent the outstanding Class A shares and Class B shares (and Class B shares held as ADSs) that are not owned by AmBev or its subsidiaries, at a purchase price of U.S.$3.35 per Class A share and U.S.$33.53 per Class B share (U.S.$67.07 per ADS), net to the seller in cash (less any amounts withheld under applicable tax laws), without interest, to 5:00 p.m., New York City Time (which is 11:00 p.m. Luxembourg Time), on April 5, 2007.
AmBev and BAH are preparing a supplement to the Offer Document which will be mailed to shareholders shortly and available for free at www.sec.gov and www.ambev-ir.com following the approval of the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier. The offer period is extended to allow shareholders the opportunity to review the supplement to the Offer Document prior to making their decision.
As of March 15, 2007, approximately 3,169,269 Class A shares and 1,400,491 Class B shares (including Class B shares held as ADSs), representing 0.68% of the voting rights of Quinsa, had been tendered in and not withdrawn from the offer.
All terms and conditions of the offer are described in the Offer Document, which was approved by the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier on January 25, 2007 and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 25, 2007. As stated in the Offer Document, Quinsa’s Board of Directors has unanimously determined that the offer is fair to shareholders other than AmBev and its affiliates and recommends that shareholders tender their shares in the offer. Shareholders of Quinsa can obtain the Offer Document and other documents that were filed with the SEC (the “Offer Documentation”) for free at www.sec.gov and www.ambev-ir.com.
The Offer Documentation was mailed to Quinsa shareholders by Innisfree M&A Incorporated. Requests for the Offer Documentation may be directed to Innisfree M&A Incorporated at +1 877 750 9501 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) or at +00 800 7710 9970 (freephone in the EU), or in writing at 501 Madison Avenue, 20th floor, New York, NY, 10022, U.S.A. Questions regarding the offer may be directed to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC at +1 800 318 8219 (toll free in the U.S.).
InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: INB) based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer. InBev’s strategy is to strengthen its local platforms by building significant positions in the world's major beer markets through organic growth, world-class efficiency, targeted external growth, and by putting consumers first. InBev has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois®, Brahma®, Beck’s®, Leffe® and Skol® - the third-largest selling beer brand in the world. InBev employs some 86 000 people, running operations in over 30 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2006, InBev realized 13.3 billion euro of revenue. For further information visit www.inbev.com .
Quinsa is the largest brewer in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, having a share of the Chilean market as well. It also is the Pepsi bottler in Argentina and Uruguay.
AmBev is the largest brewer in Brazil and in South America through its beer brands Skol, Brahma and Antarctica. AmBev also produces and distributes soft drink brands such as Guaraná Antarctica, and has franchise agreements for Pepsi soft drinks, Gatorade and Lipton Ice Tea. AmBev has been present in Argentina since 1993 through Brahma. BAH is a wholly owned subsidiary of AmBev.
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