http://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...r_N.htm?csp=34

Excerpts:

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Brewers SABMiller (SBMRY)and Molson Coors Brewing (TAP)
have agreed to combine their U.S. operations to create a venture with annual
beer sales of 69 million barrels and revenue of about $6.6 billion that will be
a strong number-two player to Anheuser-Busch (BUD).

The venture, MillerCoors, will generate around $500 million of annual cost
savings by year three and is subject to clearance from U.S. antitrust
authorities, the two groups said Tuesday.

"We expect this approval to be forthcoming ... The combination will create a
strong number-two player in the U.S. beer market with 30% market share," said
analyst Matthew Webb at Cazenove.

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Analysts see a high likelihood of the deal going through as the Molson and Coors
families, which control Molson Coors, support the deal, and a precedent was set
from a regulatory standpoint by the creation of Reynolds American (RAI).

Reynolds American brought together the second- and third-largest U.S. cigarette
companies in 2004 to compete against Marlboro-maker Altria (MO).

***

The companies say by combining U.S. operations, the venture will be able to
invest more in marketing its brands to consumers and compete more effectively
with larger brewers like Anheuser-Busch and InBev (INBVF), which imports a large
number of global beers to the U.S. and is the world's largest brewer by volume.

***

Both companies have struggled against U.S. market leader Anheuser-Busch, which
has almost half the national beer market and is a major force in beer pricing in
the U.S. as a result.

SABMiller bought Miller in 2002 but has struggled to make headway in the United
States, and its market share has slipped below 20%. Canada's Molson combined
with Coors in 2005 but has also struggled to gain U.S. market share.