Why These Stocks Are Stealing Headlines Today

After a month-long courtship and five failed proposals, Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) has finally convinced SABmiller to merge with it, forming in the process one of the top two beer makers in the world. Shares of Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) are up by 1.74% following the acceptance of its $106 billion offer for SABmiller, which will wed two of the top selling beer brands in the world, Bud and Miller, under one brewing umbrella.

Yet it’s rival brewer Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) that is actually making the bigger move, as also happened following the first takeover proposal, as it also stands to benefit from the deal. Shares of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) are up by 10.91% in morning trading, with the expectation being that it will be able to acquire the 58% stake in MillerCoors held by SABmiller, owing to likely antitrust concerns over the market dominance in the U.S such a merger would otherwise create. That would give Molson Coors full ownership of MillerCoors, which has market share of 25% in the U.S.

Investors we track were bullish on both Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) as of June 30, ranking them as two of their top five alcohol stocks. They were particularly bullish on Molson Coors however, owning 18.60% of its shares compared to just 2.20% of the much larger Anheuser Busch. Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners held large positions in both stocks on June 30, as did billionaire James Dinan.

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