U.S. set to approve AB InBev-SABMiller deal this month - Bloomberg

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is set to approve Anheuser-Busch InBev SA's (ABI.BR) takeover of SABMiller Plc (SAB.L) later this month, with conditions, Bloomberg reported.

A potential approval for the $100 billion-plus deal may include measures to keep the merged entity from edging craft brewers out of the market, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

These steps could include limiting the company's ownership of distributors, Bloomberg quoted one of the persons as saying. (http://bloom.bg/1RNlmaX)

AB InBev launched its bid for SABMiller in November that would combine the company's Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona brands with SABMiller's Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell and brew almost a third of the world's beer.

SABMiller declined to comment. AB InBev did not immediately comment on the report.

Craft beer makers have expressed concerns that the deal will hurt the fast-growing U.S. craft beer industry, as they use the same network of distributors as AB InBev and MillerCoors.

The smaller brewers do not appear to be getting much traction in meetings with Justice Department officials about their complaints, Bloomberg reported.

The deal has already received EU antitrust approval and conditional approval from South African anti-trust regulators.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan and Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)