| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front Economy |
| Anheuser-Busch being sold to InBev for $52B |
| 2008-07-14 |
| BRUSSELS, Belgium - Anheuser Busch Cos. said early Monday it had agreed to a sweetened $52 billion takeover bid from InBev, creating the world's largest brewer and heading off what was shaping up as an acrimonious fight for the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beers. The deal, which would also create the third-largest consumer product company, will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. The Anheuser-Busch board accepted the higher takeover offer Sunday night from Belgian-based brewer InBev SA, according to a joint press release."I think we're going to bring the best of both companies into one company, our footprint with their amazing brands," InBev CEO Carlos Brito said in a video posted on InBev's Web site. For InBev, the maker of Stella Artois and Beck's, the deal gives an aggressive company an iconic beer brand -- Budweiser -- to sell into emerging markets such as China and Brazil where it has already established a firm footprint. InBev is currently the world's second-largest beer-maker, just behind SABMiller. Swallowing Anheuser-Busch sees it leap ahead, capturing half of the U.S. beer market and a fifth of China and Russia. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #5 Will we get Brahma chopp here in the US? I remember it going down easy like Sunday morning on a hot SP afternoon. And they were pretty much all hot. |
| Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats 2008-07-14 18:44 |
| #4 I just did a brewery tour in Fort Collins. Kinda sad that an American icon will be no longer American, but I never did like Bud either. Although, their new micro brew "Beach Bum" is delicious. It was funny that I kept point out the different brew cycles to my wife before the tour guide said anything from the smell only. I guess I am a full fledged master home brewer now. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-07-14 17:03 |
| #3 It's a hot news topic here, too, since there's so much AB-owned stuff in nearby Williamsburg. From Channel 12: "InBev said it will keep all 12 of Anheuser-Busch's North American breweries open, including the Williamsburg facility that employs about 870 workers. It has not said how it will handle the other properties." Other properties in W'burg: Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, Kingsmill Resort (& golf course). Not as much impact as in St. Louis, but still the cause of many sphincter muscles tightening.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-07-14 16:22 |
| #2 A-B was the pride of St. Louis, and it patronized a LOT of local charities and public activities. Their factory tours are (were?) amazing. It saddens me deeply to think it's being sold to a bunch of greedy Belgians. This move will NOT help the people of St. Louis. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-07-14 15:10 |
| #1 People here in St Louis are freaking out over this. I think it is good for the company though. I worked for AB and saw ridiculous practices, money blown away and a top heavy management nightmare. The unions are wringing their hands since their free ride may be tightened up and people will actually have to do some work. AB has been hemorrhaging cash for years. Just because your last name is Busch does not mean you are a good business man. The company is old, tired, and overweight. I look forward to InBev shaping it up. |
| Posted by: Yousemite Sam 2008-07-14 13:15 |