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Reuters reports that South African Breweries (SAB) has suspended commitments to retain workers and investments, agreed as part of its merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev, due to SA’s decision to ban alcohol sales.
SA banned alcohol sales late last month as part of tighter restrictions to rein in the spread of Covid-19. The company indicated in court papers filed on Wednesday that “its obligations have been suspended with effect from the date of the impugned regulations.” The conditions of the $106 billion merger required SAB to maintain an aggregate headcount of 5,967 workers in SA and for AB InBev to make a R1 billion investment in the country in five equal instalments of R200 million over a period of five years from the date of the merger agreement. SAB, now a unit of AB InBev, is challenging the government’s decision to re-impose a third alcohol ban as unlawful. In a process that started in May, SAB submitted a proposal to the Competition Commission to amend its merger conditions by way of an application to the Competition Tribunal, which makes the final ruling on mergers. “This risk (of non-compliance with merger conditions) has arisen as a consequence of the impugned provisions, which have completely banned the sale of alcohol products,” Richard Rivett-Carnac, a director of SAB, claimed in an affidavit.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nqobile Dludla at Moneyweb
Read too, SAB stands behind its social media campaign against the ban of alcohol, at SowetanLive
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page