Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) won crucial conditional approval from Australian antitrust regulators for the sale of its Carlton & United Breweries to Japanese brewer Asahi (OTC: ASBRF).
The mega brewer is unloading its Australian business in a bid to help lower its massive debt load, and now just needs the country's foreign investment regulators to sign off on the deal.
After Anheuser-Busch's acquisition of SABMiller in 2016, its debt surged to $104 billion and the brewer began shedding assets to raise money to reduce the amount. It spun off its Asian business last year.