Beer Dynasties Got $948 Million of AB InBev Dividends Last Year
Beer Dynasties Got $948 Million of AB InBev Dividends Last Year
(Bloomberg) -- A holding company for families behind Anheuser-Busch InBev NV distributed 834 million euros ($948 million) in dividends last year.
Eugenie Patri Sebastien SA -- which has a stake of about 24% of the world’s largest brewer for Belgium’s de Spoelberch, de Mevius and Van Damme families -- made the payouts in two installments, bringing the total over the past five years to more than $7.5 billion, regulatory filings show.
The most recent payout is the smallest by the Luxembourg-based holding company since 2014, as AB InBev slashed its own dividend to reduce debt following its 2016 acquisition of SABMiller Plc. In April, the Budweiser-brewer cut its payout again as the coronavirus pandemic crimped sales.
Eugenie Patri Sebastien didn’t reply to email messages seeking comment.
Shares of AB InBev, once among Europe’s biggest companies by market value, have lost about half of their value since the start of 2018. The brewer said last month that revenue from its top three beer brands -- Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona -- slumped 11% in the first quarter.
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