Heineken refuses to share a glass with rival

The South African-based brewer of Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch and Peroni Nastro Azzurro has been told that Heineken’s founding family are determined to keep the Dutch firm’s independent status.

The move by SABMiller, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is being seen as a pre-emptive measure in order to prevent itself from becoming a takeover target for Stella Artois maker AB InBev.

Heineken’s UK business employs around 2,000 people at eight sites, including breweries or cider plants at Edinburgh, Livingston, Tadcaster, Manchester, London, Hereford and Ledbury.

It has 300 staff in Yorkshire in brewing, sales and support services. Heineken brews Newcastle Brown Ale and Murphy’s Stout alongside John Smith’s at Tadcaster.

Heineken’s controlling shareholders are the De-Carvalho family with a 50.1 per cent stake in the Amsterdam-based business. The company is worth around £27bn, compared with £55bn for SABMiller.

Heineken said that SABMiller’s proposal was “non-actionable”.

It added: “The Heineken family has informed SABMiller and Heineken of its intention to preserve the heritage and identity of Heineken as an independent company.

“The Heineken family and Heineken’s management are confident that the company will continue to deliver growth and shareholder value.”

SABMiller has no brewing operations in the UK.