Dutch
brewing giant Heineken has rejected a takeover offer from London brewer
SABMiller saying the proposal is "non-actionable".
Heineken
said it had "consulted with its majority shareholder" before
rejecting the approach.
It
said the Heineken family, the founding family which still owns half of the
firm, wanted to preserve the firm as "an independent company".
Heineken
said it was confident it would continue to grow.
"The
Heineken family and Heineken N.V.'s management are confident that
the company
will continue to deliver growth and shareholder value," it added.
The
founding Heineken family owns just over 50% of the brewer via Heineken Holding.
A further 12% is owned by Mexico's FEMSA.
Brewing speculation
Heineken's
statement was prompted by a Bloomberg story suggesting SABMiller had approached
the Dutch firm to protect itself from a potential takeover.
There
has been speculation within the brewing industry, for months, that SABMiller
has been targeted by the world's number one brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Heineken
is the world's third largest beer producer behind AB Inbev and SABMiller, based
on volume.
Apart
from the namesake beer - Heineken, the company also produces Sol and Strongbow
Apple ciders.
When
contacted by the BBC, SABMiller declined to comment. The company is the
second-largest beer maker in the world, selling about 21 billion litres of
lager worldwide.
SABMiller's
beer brands include Miller Genuine Draft, Grolsch and Peroni Nastro Azzurro.
The company also produces soft drinks, and it is one of the world's largest
bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks.
For
the full financial year to March 2014, SABMiller earned $27bn (£17bn) in
revenues.
SABMiller's
shares are traded on the London stock exchange. The company also has a
secondary listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange.
BBC
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