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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.wsj.com/articles/molson-coors-ceo-doesnt-rule-out-buying-millercoors-if-available-1403817656\nMolson Coors CEO Doesn't Rule Out Buying MillerCoors if Available\nPeter Swinburn Reiterated Company's Focus on Bringing Down Debt Levels, Increasing Dividends\nPeter Swinburn, CEO, said he is positioning Molson Coors to take advantage of opportunities. Bloomberg News\nMike Esterl\nBiographyMike Esterl\n@mikeesterl\nmike.esterl@wsj.com\nMolson Coors Brewing Co. TAP.A 8.74% Chief Executive Peter Swinburn said he wouldn't rule out buying SABMiller PLC's 58% stake in their U.S. joint venture MillerCoors if it becomes available.\nShares in Molson Coors have risen in recent weeks on growing speculation that Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world's largest brewer, could try to acquire industry No. 2 SABMiller. The combined brewer would likely be required to divest MillerCoors on antitrust grounds, with Molson Coors the likeliest buyer.\nMr. Swinburn declined to talk about the likelihood of such a scenario or his company's appetite for a deal in an interview. But he also wouldn't rule out such a deal, which could top $10 billion, dwarfing previous acquisitions at Denver-based Molson Coors.\n\"The important thing for me is to put the company in position to take advantage of whatever comes our way,'\" said Mr. Swinburn, whose company brews Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Carling.\nBelgium's AB InBev, whose brands include Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, has declined to comment on whether it will try to acquire U.K.-based rival SABMiller, maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Pilsner Urquell. AB InBev has a history of big deals, including last year's $20.1 billion takeover of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo SAB de CV and its $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008.\nMolson Coors has a 42% stake in MillerCoors, which has about a 25% U.S. market share, behind AB InBev, which controls nearly half the U.S. market. Molson Coors has the right to increase its MillerCoors stake to 50% if SABMiller is acquired, putting it in the driver's seat to acquire the remaining 50%. Molson Coors was the world's seventh-largest brewer by volume last year, according to Euromonitor International.\nStifel Nicolaus analyst Mark Swartzberg on Thursday raised his share price target on Molson Coors to $87 from $76, estimating a 50% likelihood AB InBev will try to buy SABMiller over the next year, allowing Molson Coors to acquire Miller Coors. Earlier this month Morgan Stanley raised Molson Coors to \"equal weight'' and Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised the stock to \"buy,\" with both also citing the possibility of MillerCoors landing in the company's lap.\nShares of Molson Coors ended 0.5% higher Thursday at $74.21 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have risen 32% so far this year, handily outpacing AB InBev and SABMiller, which have also increased.\nInvestors also have flocked to Molson Coors after the company posted higher-than-expected profit in the first quarter, helped by cost-cutting and rebounding European sales. That's helped the brewer pare debt after it spent $3.5 billion in 2012 to acquire Central and East European brewer StarBev LP. It also makes it easier for Molson Coors to make acquisitions again if opportunities arise.\nMr. Swinburn reiterated Thursday that Molson Coors remains focused on bringing debt levels farther down and plans to continue increasing dividends for shareholders, while not ruling out stock buybacks or acquisitions.\nHe added the company doesn't feel pressure to get bigger through acquisitions to survive in the rapidly consolidating beer industry, where the world's four largest brewers boast a combined market share of around 50%. Molson Coors is a major player in the U.S., Canada and Europe but has a minimal presence elsewhere.\n``We're happy with our size,'' said Mr. Swinburn, adding that it is more important for Molson Coors to be the No. 1 or No. 2 brewer in the markets where it is present.\nThe credit rating agency Standard & Poor's said last month it could raise its ``BBB\" debt rating for Molson Coors after the brewer cut its debt by $1.4 billion since early 2013. Gavin Hattersley, Molson Coors' chief financial officer, told investors at a conference Wednesday that the brewer wants to maintain its investment-grade rating but that it is \"not a line in the sand.''\nWrite to Mike Esterl at mike.esterl@wsj.com\nCopyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8\nMolson Coors CEO Swinburn doesn't rule out buying MillerCoors if available $tap\nCopyright © 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved"