South Africa has finally put Anheuser Busch (AB) InBev’s $100 billion-plus deal to acquire SABMiller back on track. This development will see the world’s largest brewer complete this merger within the next six months.

According to a statement issued by The Competition Tribunal, which gives the final word on mergers in South Africa, concessions made by AB InBev to get the deal approved were designed to address both public interest and competition concerns arising from the merger.

In October last year, the business world witnessed the greatest merger of 2015, British –South African brewing giant, SABMiller finally accepted “in principle” a £69 billion ($106 billion) takeover offer from Anheuser Busch (AB) InBev. This came after SABMiller had repeatedly rejected offers from its largest rival, AB InBev, in the early weeks, saying the offers undervalued the company.

But today, South Africa has cleared the deal after AB InBev shares were suspended for a long period of time. AB InBev Chief Executive, Carlos Brito, has stated that the company is set to close the merger in the second half of 2016, adding that South Africa was “a market that would play a critical role in the combined company.”

The successful merging of these two companies will create a force in the global brewing industry as Africa will be added to AB InBev’s already dominant presence across Belgium, America and Latin America. “We believe Africa, in particular, will be a key driver for the joint company in the future,” Brito said. Last year, the managing director of SABMiller Africa, Mark Bowman, revealed that Africa holds a multitude of business opportunities, and that the company was fiercely optimistic about its ability to expand in Africa. The company, which has primary brewing operations in 17 countries across Africa, has seen transformational growth in key markets across the continent.

SABMiller itself is a merger that unites Africa and America – SAB (South Africa) and Miller Brewing Company (USA). The company went from being a local conglomerate to the second-largest brewer in the world in 2011 after it acquired several other companies in South Africa, Latin America, and Australia. Today, SABMiller produces over 200 beers, and has 70,000 employees across 80 countries. The company also has a growing soft drinks business and is one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks.

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