InBev, the Belgian-Brazilian brewer behind Stella Artois and Beck's, dismissed fears over its ability to fund the $52 billion (£33 billion) takeover of Anheuser-Busch, its US rival, on existing terms.

The news came as Molson Coors, another American brewer, was identified as the holder of a 5 per cent stake in Foster's, fuelling speculation that it could use the holding to make a bid for the Australian brewer and winemaker. InBev, which was announcing third-quarter results, said that the takeover of the Budweiser maker, worth more than $60 billion including debt, was on track to close by the end of the year, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.

Felipe Dutra, InBev's chief financial officer, said that he did not expect any problems despite the deterioration in the financial climate. “I'm not anticipating ... a change in terms of the capital structure and I firmly believe the deal will be closed based on the agreed-upon conditions,” he said.

Mr Dutra said that he still expected the postponed $9.8 billion rights issue that was to have part-funded the deal to take place, insisting that the delay was the result of market volatility rather than price or demand.

The group reported a 1.9 per cent rise in third-quarter volumes as it won market share in eight out of ten of its top markets, including the UK, albeit that volumes declined 5.3 per cent. Underlying earnings for the quarter rose by 6.5 per cent to €1.39 billion (£1.1 billion) on group revenues up 7.7 per cent to €3.95 billion.

Meanwhile, Molson Coors said that it would be watching the situation at Foster's, which is in the midst of a strategic review, with interest. Peter Swinburn, its chief executive, said: “I would caution that we could take the view that we keep, we stay where we are, we might move forwards, or we might move backwards and out.”

SABMiller is also known to be interested in the Foster's beer division, although analysts said it could team up with Molson Coors to make a bid.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax