MOLSON COORS & MILLER COMBINE U.S. OPERATIONS IN JOINT VENTURE

From AP via The New York Times:

Brewers Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller said Tuesday they will combine their U.S. operations in a joint venture.

The makers of Miller Lite, Original Coors and Coors Light said they will share ownership equally in the new venture which they said should help them compete more effectively.

The industry leader in the United States is Anheuser-Busch Cos., maker of Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Light.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The new company will be called MillerCoors, the companies said. London-based SABMiller, which brews Miller Lite as well as a slew of European beers, and Molson Coors, the brewer of Coors Light and the craft beer Blue Moon, will each have a 50 percent voting interest in the venture and have five representatives on its board of directors.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies said they will conduct all of their U.S. business exclusively through the venture.

The companies project MillerCoors will have combined annual beer sales of 69 million U.S. barrels with revenue of about $6.6 billion.