Brewing companies Adolph Coors Co. and Molson Inc. are preparing to announce a $6-billion merger plan as early as Thursday, The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
The board of directors of Canada's Molson is expected to meet later on Wednesday to vote on the deal, while the board of Colorado-based Coors, led by Chairman Peter Coors, is understood to support the deal, the paper said, citing unspecified people familiar with the matter.
The deal will contain little or no premium for Molson shareholders and will be structured as much as possible as a "merger of equals," according to the Journal.
Coors and Molson representatives were not immediately available to comment on the report.
The companies confirmed earlier this week they were engaged in merger talks and a deal would create a more powerful rival to market leaders SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch.
Many details still needed to be worked out late Tuesday, and it was possible that an announcement could be delayed, the Journal said.
But with Coors scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Thursday, the two companies hope to make an official announcement at the same time as Coors meets with shareholders and analysts, the newspaper said.
