SABMiller PLC is in preliminary talks with Ian Molson and Canada’s Onex Corp. about a possible joint offer to buy Molson Inc., the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation.
The newspaper said the talks were at a very early stage and may not result in a formal offer. In July, Molson agreed to merge with Colorado-based Adolph Coors Co., in a deal that would create the world’s fifth largest brewer by volume.
Those plans could be imperiled by the SABMiller bid, the paper said.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, the chief executives of Molson and Coors insisted they would stick with their plan to merge the two brewers and dismissed rumors of a competing bid for Molson.
Dan O’Neill, Molson’s chief executive, said in the interview that talk of a competing bid was “simply rumors.” Coors chief executive Leo Kiely told Reuters that the general sentiment among Coors shareholders was in favor of the merger.
Molson must obtain two-thirds of both its class A non-voting and class B voting shareholders, and the approval from each class of Coors shareholders.
The SABMiller bid was reported on Wednesday by Canada’s Globe and Mail.