AB InBev to retain its name after SABMiller takeover

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Wednesday that it would retain its existing name after a planned $100-billion-plus (76.89 billion pounds) takeover of rival SABMiller.

SABMiller shareholders will vote on Wednesday on whether to accept AB InBev's 45 pound-per-share offer for the world's second-largest brewer, as well as an alternative partly composed of AB InBev shares.

Preceding that vote AB InBev held a meeting of its shareholders to approve the mechanics of the transaction.

AB InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito, who will head the combined company, outlined the rationale for the deal - including the creation of the first global brewer with new fast-growing African and Latin American markets - before announcing that the name Anheuser-Busch would remain.

The brewer of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois has undergone a series of name changes - from Interbrew to InBev after a 2004 merger with Brazil-based AmBev and then to its current name after its 2008 purchase of Budweiser maker Anheuser Busch.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Jason Neely)