Billionaire Dan Loeb Bullish on Mergers and Acquisitions Players

Third Point Likes Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD)

– Number of shares held by Third Point as of December 31: 1.40 Million

– Value of Third Point’s holding as of December 31: $175.00 Million

Dan Loeb’s New York-based fund held unchanged its position in Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) during the last quarter of 2015 at 1.40 million shares, which were valued at $175.00 million on December 31. In the second half of 2015, the world’s largest beer maker reached an agreement to acquire its closest rival, SABMiller plc, which would “create an unrivaled player with strong pricing power in an increasingly consolidated global industry” according to Third Point. The combined company’s brands will include Budweiser, Corona Extra and Stella Artois, as well as Blue Moon and Fosters. Third Point believes that the shares of Anheuser Busch Inbev will “grow nicely over the next several years as the true earnings power of the new company is revealed”. Precisely, a portion of the gains are anticipated to come from enhancing the underlying profitability of SABMiller, while another portion of gains “will come from the capture of deal-related cost and revenue synergies”. Moreover, Third Point believes that more gains could “come from financial engineering as BUD’s under-levered balance sheet is monetized to help finance the transaction”. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported owning 5.29 million shares of Third Point Bets on Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) through the latest round of 13Fs.

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Third Point Bullish on Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP)

– Number of shares held by Third Point as of December 31: 2.00 Million

– Value of Third Point’s holding as of December 31: $187.84 Million

The AB InBey-SABMiller merger is also anticipated to transform Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) into a stronger regional competitor following the acquisition of SABMiller’s interest in MillerCoors LLC, a joint venture in the U.S. and Puerto Rico between Molson Coors and SABMiller, and SABMiller’s portfolio of Miller brands outside the United States. Third Point LLC trimmed its stake in Molson Coors by 150,000 shares during the December quarter to 2.00 million shares, which were worth $187.84 million at the end of December. As stated in Third Point’s letter to investors, Molson’s purchase of assets from SABMiller “gives the company full control over its most important market, something that ought to improve operational effectiveness and increase the long-term strategic value of the company to a potential acquirer as the global beer industry continues to consolidate”. The shares of Molson Coors, one of the world’s largest brewers, are up 29% in the past 12 months. Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital had 2.35 million shares of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) in its equity portfolio at the end of 2015.

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