Sayenko Kharenko – legal counsel on obtaining merger clearance for MillerCoors disposal

Sayenko Kharenko’s antitrust team has provided legal assistance in obtaining merger clearance with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the “AMC“) for the USD 12 billion acquisition by Molson Coors Brewing Company (Molson Coors) of SABMiller Limited’s (SABMiller) 58 per cent stake in MillerCoors LLC (MillerCoors), the joint venture formed in the United States and Puerto Rico by SABMiller and Molson Coors in 2008. As part of the transaction, Molson Coors also gains full ownership of the SABMiller brand portfolio outside of the USA and Puerto Rico, and retains the rights to all of the brands currently in the MillerCoors portfolio for the USA and Puerto Rico, including REDD’s and import brands such as Peroni, Grolschand Pilsner Urquell.  

This transaction enables Molson Coors to become the third largest global brewer by enterprise value and the sole owner of MillerCoors, which will continue to operate as separate business unit of Molson Coors and will retain its name and headquarters in Chicago.

Molson Coors is a leading international brewer delivering extraordinary brands that delight the world’s beer drinkers. It brews, markets and sells a portfolio of leading premium brands such as Coors Light, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian, Carling, Staropramen and Blue Moon across The Americas, Europe and Asia. It operates in Canada through Molson Coors Canada; in the USA through MillerCoors; across Europe through Molson Coors Europe; and outside these core markets through Molson Coors International. The company was listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past five years and named global Beverage Sector Leader in 2012 and 2013. For the past two years, the company was the only alcohol producer recognized on the Index for world class sustainability performance.

After examining the proposed transaction, the AMC has concluded that its implementation poses neither threat to competition nor significantly limits competition on any product market in Ukraine.

Sayenko Kharenko’s antitrust team for the current transaction included counsel Maksym Nazarenko, associates Julia Kuyda and Igor Pomaz, and was led by partner Volodymyr Sayenko.