Posted on 07/13/2008 11:15:56 PM PDT by Schnucki
The US brewer Anheuser-Busch has agreed to be taken over by Belgium-based InBev, in a move that will create the world's largest beer maker.
The $50bn (£25bn) takeover bid by InBev, which makes Stella Artois beer, was accepted by Anheuser's board.
The combined company will now be called Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Anheuser makes Budweiser - the most popular beer in the US - and some US politicians had expressed anger at the prospect of a foreign takeover.
'Unrivalled brands'
In a concession to political concerns about the deal, Budweiser's headquarters will remain in St Louis, Missouri while none of Anheuser's US breweries will be closed.
InBev is offering to pay $70 a share for Anheuser in a deal which must be approved by shareholders of both businesses.
The combined business will have annual sales of $36.4bn, equivalent to 460 million hectoliters of beer a year.
It will bring a host of popular brands including Beck's, Hoegaarden and Staropramen - in addition to Budweiser and Stella - under one roof.
InBev, itself formed by a giant merger several years ago, described the deal as "historic".
"Together, Anheuser-Busch and InBev will be able to accomplish much more than each can on its own," said InBev boss Carlos Brito, who will become chief executive of the new firm.
"This combination will create a stronger, more competitive global company with an unrivalled worldwide brand portfolio and distribution network, with great potential for growth all over the world."
Anheuser boss August Busch said the transaction would "enhance global market access for Budweiser, one of America's truly iconic brands".
Job concerns
There are widespread fears that the deal will lead to substantial job losses in the US Midwest at a time while the threat of recession is hanging over the economy.
The two firms have said the deal will generate annual savings of $1.5bn but have suggested that job losses will be kept to a minimum because there is little current overlap between the two businesses.
Anheuser currently controls nearly half of the US market, while InBev is strong in Western European and Latin American markets. Anheuser also owns stakes in Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo and Chinese brewer Tsingtao.
The deal should give Budweiser a platform to boost its growth in Europe where, apart from a number of markets like the UK, it has been relatively weak.
The beer market has been rapidly consolidating in the face of cost pressures and declining sales in many mature markets.
Scottish & Newcastle, the UK's largest brewer, was recently bought out by Heineken and Carlsberg.
Should I switch to Sam Adams?
Why would they let themselves be bought out by a foreign company?
They’re probably going to change the identity of Anheuser-Busch.
Corporations are unsentimental by nature, so there is no reason for the consumer to get sentimental about a corporation. $70 a share is a fair deal for Anheuser Busch. I am not sure what the new owners can do to “ruin” the Budweiser.
Isn’t INBEV associated with Cuba?
That depends upon whether you want to drink real beer or the rice-filled stuff A-B calls beer.
I like Budweiser
Several years ago I rescued two Germans whose engine had quit on the Talkeetna river in Alaska. After I had towed them ashore they rewarded me with two bottles of beer which they had brought with them on the plane from Germany. They had been to Alaska before and knew our beers. They bestowed them upon me as though they provided water in the desert.
Okay, okay, I'm a beer snob. There are worse defects of character-so I drink beer to forget them.
The weak dollar and foreign trade deficits run amuk... what a way to run a country. (into the ground)
Budweiser in a can = worst beer on earth.
Stella!
They’d better NOT screw up Negra Modelo.
Anything from a can usually stinks, unless it’s certain soup.
I don’t care about the beer as long as they leave the Clydesdales alone.
btt
In general, I prefer the beers of Europe. However, I don’t drink French beer when I am in France and when I am in Belgium I don’t drink Stella Artois! I drink Leffe.
Recently, BevMo has carried Leffe here in the States.
While in Ukraine, when the bar at the hotel ran out of Baltica-3 I’d always have Stella Artois as a fallback. Not a bad beer at all.
LOL! Which they had...
AB bought out Sam Adams years ago.
No micro brew has the advertising of Sam Adams nor it wide availability.
My husband is furious at this. He drinks his “American” beer, Budweiser. Does Sam Adams have a good light beer?
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