World market leader ABInBev, brewer of such labels as Beck's and Budweiser, is set to buy out its biggest rival, SABMiller, for some 96 billion euros. The two major brewers dickered for weeks before agreeing on a purchase price - a record sum. All they need now is the blessings of the antitrust authorities.
Once they've poured their resources into one vat, most of the world's beer will be brewed by one corporation. That could spell higher prices and may well result in a flattening of the range of tastes round the world. The reaction in pubs throughout the British capital London has been muted.