ABN Amro has emerged at the centre of SABMiller's largest acquisition in over two years, after the UK-listed brewer agreed to buy Dutch rival Grolsch for €816bn ($1.2bn).

SABMiller said this morning it would pay an 84% premium to Grolsch's average closing share price over the last month to buy the business. It is the brewer's largest purchase since it bought a majority stake in Columbian drinks company Bavaria for $3.5bn in 2005.