Legendary, Pokemon in movie deal

BEIJING • Billionaire Wang Jianlin's Legendary Entertainment will team up with the developers of the popular Pokemon Go game to make a live-action film based on the creatures. Legendary, which is partnering The Pokemon Co, will begin production next year for the movie, which will feature Detective Pikachu, according to a statement from the companies on Wednesday.

Legendary, a unit of Mr Wang's Dalian Wanda Group, is seeking to be the latest beneficiary of the frenzy surrounding Pokemon Go, a game in which people use augmented reality to catch creatures with their phones. The game's popularity has led shares of Nintendo to nearly double this month.

BLOOMBERG

US clears AB InBev-SAB merger

NEW YORK • Brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and SABMiller received US antitrust approval for their US$107 billion (S$145 billion) merger on Wednesday, bringing the largest consumer products deal a big step closer to completion.

The combination of the two top brewers, which together will make nearly 30 per cent of the world's beer, now needs only regulatory clearance from China, which is widely expected, given the proposed divestment of SAB's business there.

The deal has been cleared by Australia, Europe and South Africa, and AB InBev said it still expects closure this year.

REUTERS