The world’s largest brewer, AB InBev, said Tuesday it will buy back a minority interest in its U.S. beer-can manufacturing plants, reclaiming a 49.9% stake from a consortium led by asset manager Apollo in a deal valued at about $3 billion.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV — the maker of Budweiser, Corona and hundreds of other brands — said it is exercising a contractual right to repurchase the stake it sold in December 2020. That earlier transaction, also priced at $3 billion, granted AB InBev the option to buy back the holding on the fifth anniversary of the deal’s closing at a price agreed at the time.

A Deal Years in the Making

The brewer said the transaction is expected to close by March, subject to customary closing conditions. Counsel information for the companies was not immediately available, and Apollo Global Management Inc. did not respond to a request for comment.

AB InBev produces more than 600 beer brands across 150 countries, and said the U.S.-based metal container operations include seven facilities spread across six states.

Why the Can Plants Matter

The Belgian brewer described the metal container plants as a cornerstone of its U.S. supply chain — likening them to the backbone of a well-tuned engine. The facilities, AB InBev said, ensure product quality, cost efficiency, innovation speed and supply security, while also providing industry-leading manufacturing jobs and supporting economic growth in communities nationwide.

AB InBev, which is primarily listed on Euronext Brussels and also trades in New York, South Africa and Mexico, said it plans to fund the buyback using existing cash, with the expectation that the move will be accretive to shareholder value in the first year after closing.

Revisiting a 2020 Strategy

When AB InBev sold the minority stake in 2020, the brewer said the move would help it reduce debt, while allowing it to retain operational control of the can-making plants. The buyback now brings the assets fully back under AB InBev’s ownership, closing a strategic loop drawn during the height of pandemic-era balance sheet pressures.

As the brewer pulls these facilities back into the fold, the transaction underscores a broader recalibration — a return to vertical integration as supply security and operational control take on renewed importance.