Global Trade
January 9, 2026
AB InBev repurchases minority stake in US metal can operations
Written by Nicholas Bell
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has exercised its option to repurchase the 49.9% minority stake in its US-based metal container plants from a consortium led by Apollo Global Management, completing a transaction valued at ~$3 billion.
The repurchase reverses a transaction completed at the end of 2020, when AB InBev sold the same minority stake to support balance sheet deleveraging during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company said the US-based metal container operations, comprising seven facilities across six states, are a strategic component of its business, supporting cost efficiency, supply security, and innovation.
AB InBev expects the transaction to be earnings-per-share accretive in the first year and funded with cash on hand, with closing anticipated in the first quarter of 2026.
AB InBev retained operational control of the metal container plants following the original 2020 transaction, which was also valued at ~$3 billion and recorded as non-controlling interest on the company’s balance sheet.
Scope of US container operations
AB InBev has not publicly disclosed the specific facilities included in the repurchase.
However, industry data from CRU Group, AMU’s parent company, indicate that its Metal Container Corp. subsidiary operates can plants across Missouri, Florida, California, New York, and Colorado, alongside specialized lid-producing operation in Oklahoma noted in previous company press releases.
CRU data indicate combined nameplate capacity across five of AB InBev’s US can-producing facilities exceeds 16 billion cans per year, excluding the lid-specific plant in Oklahoma and a California facility whose production mix and operational details could not be independently verified at the time of publication.
Recap of the 2020 transaction
The original sale of the minority stake occurred at a moment of acute balance-sheet pressure.
In late 2020, AB InBev cited debt repayment and deleveraging commitments as the primary drivers behind the transaction, while retaining operational control of the assets.
At the time, demand for canned beverages was relatively strong as stay-at-home orders drove increased purchases of canned beverages, and monetizing a portion of the container operations provided immediate liquidity without disrupting internal supply chains.
The 2026 repurchase restores full ownership of the US metal container operations at roughly the same 2020 valuation.
Aluminum market context
While the company did not explicitly link the repurchase to aluminum market conditions, the timing coincides with a period of elevated aluminum input costs in the US market.
Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) have risen in recent weeks above the $3,000 per metric ton threshold, alongside a historically high US Midwest premium that’s surpassed 90¢/lb in recent weeks.
Both factors have increased both the level and volatility of aluminum input costs faced by US beverage can buyers.
In that context, regaining full ownership of internal can manufacturing capacity may provide AB InBev with greater insulation from cost volatility at a time when external can suppliers are also navigating higher metal prices and maintaining margins has become increasingly critical.
Domestic canned beer market context
The decision to reacquire the minority stake appears less tied to expectations for a growth in canned beer demand and more aligned with managing cost exposure and supply certainty in a higher-price aluminum environment.
Data spanning 2012-2024 from the US Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau show beer output among brewers producing more than one million barrels annually peaked between 2016 and 2018 and has trended downward since.
Over the 2012-2024 period, the number of breweries operating at that scale fluctuated within a narrow range of 24 to 28, with an average of roughly 25.5. In 2024, the total stood at 24, slightly below the thirteen-year average.
Total beer production across brewers producing more than a million barrels fell by nearly 5.5% between 2023 and 2024, following a sharper decline of just over 6.5% from 2022 to 2023, underpinning the ongoing softness in US-produced beer volumes.
Production remains highly concentrated among the largest brewers. In 2024, the 24 brewers producing more than one million barrels annually accounted for about 78% of total US beer output, while the remaining 6,572 breweries accounted for the remaining 22%.
At the same time, the share of metal cans in the US beer packaging mix increased over much of the same period as 2012-2024.
According to the Beer Institute’s most recently available Packaging Report, metal cans accounted for just over 64% of domestic beer packaging by 2023, exceeding the share of glass bottles and draft formats and outpacing the share of metal cans in imported beer packaging.
While 2023 marked an increased from 2022, the share of metal cans in domestic beer packaging peaked in 2020.
Strategic considerations
The demand trends in the domestic beer market imply the stake repurchase is less about capturing incremental volume growth and more about reinforcing cost control and supply reliability amid structurally higher aluminum prices.
Owning metal container assets does not eliminate exposure to LME aluminum prices or elevated Midwest premiums, but it can reduce the degree to which those costs are compounded through third-party conversion margins.
Full ownership also provides greater flexibility in inventory management, procurement timing, and internal cost allocation during period of market volatility.
In addition, the move may strengthen AB InBev’s negotiating position with extern can suppliers by reducing reliance on the broader merchant can market, which is dominated by pure-play producers such as Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings, and Ardagh Metal Packaging.
