Molson, Coors May Merge

Adolph Coors Co., the No. 3 U.S. brewer, is engaged in talks to merge with Molson Inc. of Canada and create a more powerful rival to industry leaders SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc., the brewers said Monday.

The deal, if completed, would split the executive jobs between the two companies. The terms being discussed include naming Molson Chairman Eric Molson as chairman of the combined company and Coors Chief Executive Leo Kiely as CEO.

An announcement “could be made in the near future,” the companies said, but they also warned the talks could break down at any time. Combined, Coors and Molson would boast a market capitalization of $6 billion.

The deal would solve expansion issues for both companies, which have watched larger rivals snatch up competitors around the globe over the last few years.

Golden, Colo.-based Coors has struggled to overcome a health-conscious shift away from beer to wine and distilled spirits. Unlike other brands, Coors has yet to introduce a successful low-carbohydrate beer, and its Coors Light brand is losing share to SABMiller’s Miller Lite and Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light.

Montreal-based Molson has been searching for ways to gain a leg up on rival Labatt, owned by Brussels-based Interbrew.

Coors and Molson already have joint ventures to distribute each other’s products in the United States and Canada, so it is hard to see how a combination would benefit them, said Benj Steinman, editor of industry trade newsletter Beer Marketer’s Insights.

“It makes them bigger on the global scene,” Steinman said. “But no major synergies are immediately apparent.”

Shares of Coors rose $2.54 to $75.56 on the New York Stock Exchange.