Banks managing the €6.4bn ($8.2bn) rights issue for newly-merged brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev have succeeded in placing over €1bn of new shares with institutional investors, reducing the chances that they will be left with a large rump of stock when the deal completes.

BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, which are underwriting the Anheuser-Busch InBev rights issue, sold €1.2bn worth of shares to institutional investors yesterday as global markets rallied, according to a statement from the group.