ABInBev debt clock starts ticking after big beer deal

* ABInBev looks to cut debts after deal completes

* $17 billion debt to be repaid within 12 months

* Shares set to stay under pressure until disposal news

BRUSSELS/LONDON, Nov 19 - Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's new biggest brewer, faces a tough task to make disposals and launch a rights issue in coming months to pay down big debts after completing the largest cash takeover in history.

Belgium-based InBev completed its $52 billion debt-financed purchase of U.S. Budweiser-brewer Anheuser-Busch this week in the world's largest ever brewing deal, but $17 billion of debt is due for repayment in the next 12 months.

The brewer of Stella Artois and Beck's succeeded on Tuesday in pulling off a massive "old-style" leveraged buy-out in one of the toughest credit market of all time, despite many doubts over its success in the current financial market turmoil.

"But with this comes significant risks: none more so than the clock on the debt repayment has now started," said analyst Chris Pitcher at broker Redburn Partners.

The group has a bridging loan of $9.8 billion to repay within 6 months from a planned rights issue, a $7 billion loan to be repaid within 12 months from sell-offs and a 24-month $12 billion loan to be repaid with divestments and free cash flow.

InBev shares have fallen 45 percent since early September reflecting world stock markets and investor concerns over meeting these deadlines, although the new combined company should generate over $4 billion a year in free cash flow and is seen by some analysts as good long-term bet.

InBev shares were off 5.1 percent at 27.72 euros by 1450 GMT.

"It's a high risk strategy but if they get it right there will be great upside potential," said analyst David Liston at Barclays Wealth.

ABInBev's Brazilian Chief Executive Carlos Brito has said the combined group has a list of five "prized assets", and the group only needs to sell two or three of these to get to its $7 billion target. He did not identify the assets.

Analysts believe these could include Anheuser's U.S. theme parks, including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, Anheuser's packaging business, in addition to InBev's Korean brewing business and InBev's German brewing business, including Beck's.

Furthermore, there is Anheuser's 27 percent stake in China's best known beer brand Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd. Chinese antitrust approval of the deal stated that ABInBev could not increase its minority stake in either Tsingtao or even Zhujiang, and so may tempt a sale.

There is also Anheuser's 50.2 percent, non-controlling, stake in Mexico's biggest brewer Modelo, worth $6 billion, but analysts say ABInBev would be a reluctant seller given the importance of the Mexican market and its Corona brand.

Redburn's Pitcher puts a value on the theme parks at $3-4 billion, packaging at $2-3 billion, the Korean assets at $1-2 billion, Germany/Beck's at $2-4 billion and the Chinese minority stakes at $1-2 billion.

Trevor Sterling at Bernstein Research lists "probable" deals as theme parks which he values at $2.6 billion, Korea at $3.5 billion and Labatt USA, which U.S. regulators have ruled to be sold, at $300 million. Among "possible" deals he sees packaging worth $1.7 billion and Germany/Beck's at $2.5 billion.

Pitcher says the key to sentiment for the shares will be successful divestments and the gradual reduction of liquidity risk which in turn will increase the likelihood of a successful right issue to help cut debt and allow investors to focus on the strong cash generation of the combined group.

Analyst Valerie Wilhelm at Societe Generale takes a positive view due to the combined group's leading position in brewing with 27 percent of the world's beer market, its good geographic split with 52 percent of profits from mature markets and the rest from emerging ones and a good track record on cost cutting.

"Some said this was a very badly timed deal done at a very high multiple, but in some ways it is diversifying away from current volatile emerging markets so it could not be better timed," said one analyst, adding that before the deal InBev saw two-thirds of its earnings coming from emerging markets.

ABInBev has promised to cut costs by at least $1.5 billion in three years, or by 2011, but some analysts say this may lead to the group cutting marketing and so making the combined group less effective just when its key competitor MillerCoors is starting to see better results from the U.S. beer market.

The world's former No 1 brewer SABMiller and Molson Coors combined their U.S. operations in July this year to create a venture with nearly a 30 percent share of the U.S. beer market compared to Anheuser with almost 50 percent.