Foster's Rebuffs $10.1B SABMiller Takeover Bid

SURREY, England -- SABMiller will perhaps not be learning "How to speak Australian" any time soon. Foster's, Australia's largest beer brewer, rejected a $10.1 billion takeover offer from SABMiller. Foster's, known in the United States for its aforementioned advertising slogan, said the takeover offer is simply too low. SABMiller offered $4.90 in Australian dollars per share for Foster's, only a 8.2-percent premium compared to the Australian brewer's closing stock price of $4.53 on Monday.

"The board of Foster's believes that the proposal significantly undervalues the context of a change of control and, as such, it does not intend to take any further action in relation to it," the company said in a statement.

According to Reuters, Foster's is seen as an attractive takeover target due to its high profit margins and 50 percent of the beer market share in Australia. UBS analysts said Foster's boasts about 37 percent margins for beer -- nearly double the amount of its global competitors.

Making an offer for Foster's required some work on SABMiller's part. The British-based company needed to amend the Pacific Beverage joint venture it had with Australian soft drink bottler, Coca-Cola Amatil.