The nearly $10 billion listing, which would have been the biggest IPO this year, could have helped Mr. Dutra accelerate the company’s debt-reduction efforts. Net debt climbed to $101.39 billion at the end of fiscal 2018 from $36.26 billion at the end of 2015. High free cash flows should enable Mr. Dutra to achieve that target, said Barclays’s Mr. Whyatt. Deleveraging AB InBev has taken longer following the SABMiller transaction than after previous acquisitions, as the company continued to pay a high dividend, Mr. Whyatt said. AB InBev is always looking for opportunities, Ms. Van Lysebetten said.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 15, 2019 21:55 UTC