Foster’s, Australia’s biggest brewer by sales, rejected a $9.51bn cash offer from London-based SABMiller on Tuesday, saying the bid undervalued the Australian company.
The unsolicited and unconditional offer of A$4.90 per share for the firm was an 8.2 percent premium on the closing price of A$4.53.

SabMiller CEO Graham MacKay confirmed on Tuesday that it made an offer for its Australian counterpart as it aims to “strengthen the Foster’s brand portfolio and work with the local team to bring innovation, global scale and expertise to the business”.

He added: “SABMiller has a proven track record of acquiring and integrating brewing companies in a way which benefits shareholders, employees, business partners and the broader community.”

Foster’s said: “The board believes that the proposal significantly undervalues the company in the context of a change of control and, as such, it does not intend to take any further action in relation to it.”