Altria Group Lifts Guidance on Anheuser-Busch Stake Sale

By Dean Seal

Altria Group has raised its per-share guidance in light of its plan to sell $2.4 billion worth of Anheuser-Busch InBev shares.

The tobacco company said Thursday morning that it now expects $5.05 to $5.17 a share in adjusted earnings for 2024, up from a prior outlook for $5 to $5.15 a share and still above its 2023 total of $4.95 a share.

The outlook boost reflects its expected drop in shares outstanding, as the company intends to use proceeds of the sale to buy back its own stock. This increase is expected to be partially offset by a drop in equity earnings based on its lower ownership stake in Anheuser-Busch.

Altria said on Wednesday evening that it would sell 35 million shares, or 18% of its stake, in the brewer through a secondary offering in a bid to return cash to its shareholders. The company owns about 197 million shares, or 10%, of Anheuser-Busch, which has agreed to buy back $200 million worth of shares from Altria itself so long as the offering is completed.

The offering was priced on Thursday morning at $61.50 per Anheuser-Busch share. Altria said the offering is expected to net about $2.4 billion and that, as a result, the board has increased its existing $1 billion share-buyback program by $2.4 billion.

Following the sale, Altria will have an 8.1% stake in Anheuser-Busch and maintain two seats on the brewer's board through the 2025 annual general meeting, at which time it expects to have that pared to one seat.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 14, 2024 10:59 ET (14:59 GMT)

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