Canadian brewer Molson Inc.'s proposed merger with Adolph Coors Co. may lack sufficient shareholder support because there soon may be another offer to consider, Molson's chief executive was quoted Wednesday in a newspaper interview

Food & Drink Weekly, Sept 13, 2004

Canadian brewer Molson Inc.'s proposed merger with Adolph Coors Co. may lack sufficient shareholder support because there soon may be another offer to consider, Molson's chief executive was quoted Wednesday in a newspaper interview. CEO Dan O'Neill told The Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based newspaper, that the proposed deal is the best for shareholders, but wavered on whether enough of the company's class-A nonvoting shareholders were convinced.

"I don't know at this point. I don't know. I think the overall feeling that we have is there's still a lot of skepticism for the principal reason that people feel there will be another offer coming," said O'Neill. Coors spokeswoman Kabira Hatland said the deal is "fundamentally a great transaction" and that the Golden, Colo.-based brewer is still talking with shareholders. "There are a number of steps that still need to be taken before the transaction is closed," she said in a written statement.