MEC has retained the £50m ($72m) pan-European media planning and buying account for the brewery giant SABMiller, following a competitive pitch.

The GroupM agency, which has held the business since 2012, won a four-way contest to retain the account. The pitch was managed by Ebiquity.

SABMiller, which owns such as Grolsch, Miller and Peroni Nastro Azzurro, will use MEC to handle its media in key markets such as the UK, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Tom George, UK and Northern Europe chairman at MEC, said: “We are not ones to stand still, we proved it when we were appointed three years ago and SABMiller recognises that MEC is still the right partner to create effective and innovative communications solutions in the rapidly changing beer industry.”

However, although MEC has won the account, it is unlikely to be the last development at the brewer. SABMiller is soon to be acquired by rival AB InBev in an estimated $102bn deal that will create by far the largest brewing company in the world.

To help get the deal passed regulators in both the US and Europe, SABMiller may sell its Peroni, Grolsch and London Meantime brands in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK to Japanese brewer Asahi for $2.87bn.