SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Receive U.S. Department of Justice Clearance to Proceed...

SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Receive U.S. Department of Justice Clearance to Proceed with MillerCoors Joint Venture

Transaction Expected to Close on June 30, 2008
LONDON & DENVER--(Business Wire)--
SABMiller plc (SAB.L) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP;
TSX) today announced that they have been informed by the Antitrust
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") that the DOJ has
completed its Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review of their proposed
joint venture and has closed its investigation. The parties are
therefore free to proceed with the combination of their respective
U.S. and Puerto Rico operations to form a new company called
MillerCoors.

SABMiller and Molson Coors expect the transaction to generate
approximately $500 million in annual cost synergies to be delivered in
full by the third full financial year of combined operations.

Graham Mackay, SABMiller's Chief Executive, said: "We are very
pleased the U.S. Department of Justice has given us clearance to
proceed with the planned MillerCoors joint venture. Today's news
underscores our strong belief that this combination will not only
generate significant growth and cost synergies, but will also create
tremendous opportunities for innovations in products and services that
will greatly benefit America's beer distributors, retailers and
consumers."

Leo Kiely, Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors, added:
"MillerCoors is quickly moving toward becoming a reality, and I'm
looking forward to working with the entire team to build on our
momentum and grow our leading brands and consumer offerings. While we
recognize that regulatory clearance is just one step in creating a
dynamic U.S. competitor, it is a critical milestone, and we're
obviously very happy about the outcome. We're actively engaged in the
various planning elements and are ready to get out of the gate
smoothly and quickly upon close."

The closing of the joint venture transaction is expected to take
place on or about June 30, 2008. The Miller and Coors businesses will
continue to be operated separately and in the ordinary course until
completion of the transaction.

Transaction History and Key Facts

On October 9, 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company
announced that they had agreed to combine the U.S. and Puerto Rico
operations of their respective subsidiaries, Miller and Coors, in a
joint venture.

SABMiller and Molson Coors will each have a 50% voting interest in
the joint venture and have five representatives each on its Board of
Directors. Based on the economic value of the contributed assets,
SABMiller will have a 58% economic interest in the joint venture and
Molson Coors will have a 42% economic interest.

Overview of SABMiller

SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers, with brewing
interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six
continents. The group's brands include premium international beers
such as Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch and
Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range of market leading
local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of the
largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. In the year ended
31 March 2008, the group reported $ 3,639 million adjusted pre-tax
profit and revenue of $ 21,410 million. SABMiller plc is listed on the
London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.

For more information on SABMiller plc, visit the company's
website: www.sabmiller.com.

Overview of Molson Coors

Molson Coors Brewing Company is one of the world's largest
brewers. It brews, markets and sells a portfolio of leading
premium-quality brands such as Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Molson
Dry, Carling, Coors, and Keystone Light. It operates in Canada,
through Molson Canada; in the US, through Coors Brewing Company; in
the UK and Ireland, through Coors Brewers Limited. For more
information on Molson Coors Brewing Company, visit the company's Web
site, http://www.molsoncoors.com.

Overview of Miller

Miller produces, markets and sells the Miller portfolio of brands
in the U.S. The Miller business to be contributed to the joint venture
(the "Miller Business") does not include the sales of Miller brands
outside the U.S., but does include the sale of other SABMiller brands
in the U.S.

Overview of Coors

Coors produces, markets and sells the Coors portfolio of brands in
the U.S. and Puerto Rico, which is managed as an integral part of the
U.S. business, and also holds 50% interests in the Rocky Mountain
Metal Corporation and Rocky Mountain Bottle Corporation joint
ventures. The Coors business to be contributed to the joint venture
(the "Coors Business") will not include the sales of Coors brands
outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The business to be contributed does
include the sale of other Molson Coors brands in the U.S. and Puerto
Rico.

This announcement is for information only and does not constitute
an offer or an invitation to acquire or dispose of any securities or
investment advice or an inducement to enter into investment activity.
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the
solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire the securities of SABMiller
or Molson Coors (the "Companies") in any jurisdiction.

The distribution of this announcement may be restricted by law.
Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required by
the Companies to inform themselves about and to observe any such
restrictions.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, and language
indicating trends, such as "anticipated" and "expected". It also
includes financial information, of which, as of the date of this press
release, the Companies' independent auditors have not completed their
review. Although the Companies believe that the assumptions upon which
their respective financial information and their respective
forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, they can give no
assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
Companies' projections and expectations are disclosed in Molson Coors'
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in SABMiller's
annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2007 and in
other documents which are available on SABMiller's website at
www.sabmiller.com. These factors include, among others, changes in
consumer preferences and product trends; price discounting by major
competitors; failure to realize anticipated results from synergy
initiatives; failure to obtain regulatory consents or other third
party approvals; and increases in costs generally. All forward-looking
statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such
cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions.
Neither SABMiller nor Molson Coors undertakes to update
forward-looking statements relating to their respective businesses,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither SABMiller nor Molson Coors accepts any responsibility for any
financial information contained in this press release relating to the
business or operations or results or financial condition of the other
or their respective groups.

SABMiller / Miller
Nigel Fairbrass, +44 20 7659 0100 / 414 931-6313
Mob: +44 7799 894265
Media Relations
or
Molson Coors / Coors
Kabira Hatland, 303-277-2555
Media Relations

Copyright Business Wire 2008