British brewer SABMiller announced Tuesday that it had agreed a takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's biggest maker of beer, in a deal worth about £71 billion ($109 billion, 96 billion euros).

"The boards of AB InBev and SABMiller announce that they have reached agreement in principle on the key terms of a possible recommended offer" priced at an improved £44 per SABMiller share, the British group said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.