SABMiller PLC said on Monday that it had approached Heineken NV last month as part of its normal expansion strategy, not as a defensive measure against a takeover bid from rival Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. Chief Executive Alan Clarke said SABMiller's approach to Heineken was "assertive, not defensive" and that there was "absolutely no truth" in the claim that it had been part of a ploy to ward off a bid from AB InBev, the world's biggest brewer by sales.