[Rory]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25663923


Source: Anheuser-Busch agrees to InBev buyout
Belgian company to buy largest American brewer in $50 billion deal

InBev, the maker of Stella Artois, and Budweiser-brewer Anheuser were not immediately available to comment.

The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, said the source, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. Anheuser will get seats on the new company's board, the source said, but it was not immediately clear how many.

Adding another dimension to any deal was Mexico's No. 1 brewer Grupo Modelo , which is 50 percent owned by Anheuser. The maker of Corona beer, which has the right to choose its partner, has not yet approved InBev for that role and the two brewers remain in talks, according to one person familiar with the situation.

Modelo declined to comment.

The deal brings an amicable resolution to a month-long saga that was becoming increasingly hostile as the two companies sued each other and InBev set the stage to try to replace Anheuser's board of directors.

InBev had proposed its own slate of nominees for the board that included Adolphus Busch IV, an uncle of the current chief executive of Anheuser-Busch.

InBev lured Anheuser to the bargaining table last week by raising its offer to $70 per share from $65 per share, a 27 percent premium over Anheuser's record-high stock price in October 2002.

Shares of InBev and Anheuser surged on Friday as news of the higher offer and the negotiations emerged. Anheuser closed up 8.6 percent at $66.50, and InBev closed up more than 7 percent.

Sources had said that the two companies and their advisers had talked in New York over the weekend, working through details such as the name for the combined company, roles for Anheuser's executives and the structure of the board. The breakup fees if the deal collapses also were discussed over the weekend, the sources said.

InBev had tried to soothe some of Anheuser's concerns last month, saying it would keep Anheuser's St. Louis home as the headquarters for the North American region. Anheuser's main Budweiser beer would also become the new company's "flagship brand."


Last week, the director of the Brewery and Soft Drink Workers Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters asked to meet with InBev Chairman Peter Harf and InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito, according to a letter posted on the union's Web site http://www.budwatch.com.

Led by Chief Executive Carlos Brito, InBev is known for ruthless cost-cutting.

The union, which represents workers at all 12 of Anheuser's U.S. breweries, asked for the meeting to discuss the initial offer so it could "fulfill our responsibilities to advise and protect our members."

It was unclear if InBev and the union met.

A takeover of iconic U.S. company Anheuser has sparked an outcry from some politicians, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Any deal with Anheuser is complicated by its relationship with Mexico's No. 1 brewer, Grupo Modelo, which makes Corona. Modelo, already 50 percent owned by Anheuser, has the right to choose its partner and therefore has a role in discussions of any acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. Modelo could not be reached for comment.

Analysts have said that Modelo is likely to embrace InBev's bid for Anheuser and hopes the Belgian brewer proves to be a more dynamic and innovative partner than the biggest U.S. brewer.

Anheuser also owns 27 percent of China's Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd.

While Anheuser controls nearly half the U.S. market with brands like Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob, InBev has strong positions in Western Europe and Latin America and is growing in Eastern Europe and Asia.

InBev, which was formed by the 2004 merger of Belgium's Interbrew with Brazil's AmBev, is based in Belgium and run by a mostly-Brazilian management team.

 

[GS-Patton]

well I wont drink any AB products anymore...

 

[Flash-hider]

If I am remembering correctly the Busch family has less the a majority control of the company stock by quite a bit. If that is true it has come around to bite them.
It's not pleasent watching these so called mergers take place. People will lose their jobs, another icon of America is gone, but as long as the beer keeps flowing joe american is fat and happy.
I wonder how many millions in taxes not have to be paid because this is a foriegn owned company?

 

[Bill S]

It's not pleasent watching these so called mergers take place. People will lose their jobs, another icon of America is gone, but as long as the beer keeps flowing joe american is fat and happy.
I wonder how many millions in taxes not have to be paid because this is a foriegn owned company?

+1, Flash. This sort of thing is hitting all phases of the American economy. We will one day be the world's largest 3rd world country - with China, Mexico, Brazil and India being our owners.

 

[RetVet]

+1, Flash. This sort of thing is hitting all phases of the American economy. We will one day be the world's largest 3rd world country - with China, Mexico, Brazil and India being our owners.

There's more truth to that than many know. May as well hang a For Sale sign from the hand of Lady Liberty.

 

[Rory]

There's more truth to that than many know. May as well hang a For Sale sign from the hand of Lady Liberty.

isn't that what that book in her hand is?

huh. could have fooled me

 

[jmann]

Sort of slaps that big advertising push about being american owned in the face they have pushed for the past year.

 

[Beelzy]

The book in lady Liberty's hand must be a receipt book.

AB is another Sell-Out....................that adds to all the country's woes.

To me its another company on my ever increasing Boycott list.

 

[phalanx]

Dosent FNH own the InBev company also ?
They may as well , if you look they own everything else.

 

[Rory]

i am not a fan of AB's beers. most of the thin american mass produced beers really just don't do it for me. same for the euro versions of the same really.

as much as i like some foreign beers, the smaller micro brews that are quite prevalent are where my heart lies. especially dog fish head.

this is a pretty monumental purchase though.

 

[Old CooT]

I don't drink that watered down stuff anyway...

Brew your own.. it is worth it!!!!

 

[50 Shooter]

How ture Old Coot, BW is like drinking monkey piss!! Maybe the Belgans will make it taste better for the uninformed beer drinkers.

 

[GUNRUNNER5150]

ive never been a big fan of BW as i mostly drink sam adams or miller genuine, but its pretty sad that another American icon has sold out to foreign money.

 

[kansasrebel]

Well, that makes the last of the Big breweries. Miller went to the South Africans, Coors to the Canadiens and now Bud to the Belgians. Guess I'm going to have to switch to Sam Adams unless they're going to be sold to the Mexicans. BOYCOTT BUD!!!!

 

[robo4642]

Well that sucks!!! I guess I am the only bud drinker here. Actually one of my favorite beers is guinness extra stout, but try coming home after working in the sun all day and chug one of those. Guess I will have to switch to Yuengling. Sellouts!!!

 

[MJB68]

Well, maybe now that the belgians own it, it won't taste like skunk piss anymore. Nobody makes better beer than Belgium....Germany is a close second. You know what, we're a capitalist country and money talks. That's the way it is. Tell me you wouldn't sell your business for $50 BILLION. I know I sure as hell would. Like it or not, we are becoming a global economy, and like it or not, the U.S. may not be at the top of the economic heap when all is said and done x number of years down the road. One can lament the loss of the mom and pop shops to walmart or the decline of the American auto industry to the japanese, or yes, even the sale of an American beer to the Belgians, but that's just the way it is. Adapt or perish. By the way, budweiser stole its name from the original Budweiser in Budvar Czechoslovakia, I believe. If you've ever tried that Budweiser there's no comparison to it's (lesser quality) American cousin.

 

[B.A.R. gunner]

shame
i can recall going to the AB plant in east St. Louis MO. many times while i was younger to see the Budweiser Clydesdales, and they used to offer a tour and let you taste free samples of the beer being made there.

good quality beer or not, and East St. Louis is one of the worlds largest **** holes! ill never forget going to watch those clydesdales, and taking the free beer tour. It makes me sad.

Everything is going overseas and its the start of the end for this country.

a few examples

My father has worked for Maytag corporation for a long time. Maytag - the best of the best. maytag was so good the damn maytag repair man never had anything to do, and was bored out of his mind cause they were built so well they never broke down. Well, My fathers plant was shut down destroying the entire city they lived in, and killing house values in the area, and they moved all those jobs to Mexico. Shortly after they destroyed that town, they sold out to there largest competitors - whirlpool

For Christ's sake, even my beloved Red Wing boots are starting to go to foreign made materials! Ive bought red wing boots for 20 years, and i thought it was odd that my boots dropped in price from over $200.00 a pair to $120.00 a pair recently. I looked at the tag where it normally says made in the U.S.A., and ill be damned if the thing says "made in the USA with imported materials". The leather feels different, and funny compared to my old red wings, and it wont take the boot oil like my old red wings, and the soles are already cracking and they are barely a year old. My old red wings used to last 4 or 5 years as long as i oiled them. These dont stand a chance! Id rather pay the $200.00 for the GOOD boots - unfortunately, most Americans wont spend $200.00 on GOOD boots when they can spend $40.00 on Brahma boots made out of plastic at wal mart that will only last 3-4 months. Ive tried REALLY hard to talk to all the new guys and they ALL cant see spending the initial $200.00 for GOOD boots when they can spend $40.00 for boots made in china even though they spend WAY more than double over the same time frame. They all look at me like im nuts for spending that kind of cash on boots

maybe AB will be bought back by an American company again later
Dodge recently was bought back from the Germans, and for the first time in my life I hope to soon own a new MOPAR. Now if i could just convince them to build the Challenger in the states instead of Canada, but its a start.

sorry for the rant. It makes me sad to see this stuff go.

Where are all your children, and grand children going to work?

 

[Old CooT]

One bright side on the beer front,...

The Dixie Beer Co. of New Orleans.

The Brewery was destroyed by hurricane katrina, they have outsourced the beer to Huber Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin,. Now if ya have to Outsource,, keep it in America.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/30/business/NA-FIN-US-Dixie-Beer.php

I like Dixie Beer,.. but ya have to keep iced down and drink it fast or you have some piss in a bottle

I got to admit.. that yankee water just don't taste the same as the big muddy mississip.. the beer tastes funny.// lolzzz

 

[kansasrebel]

Coot you have to remember that the Mississippi starts in Yankee land. We just add a whole bunch of character to the water before it gets to you (at the start of the Mason/Dixon line of course).

 

[Old CooT]

Coot you have to remember that the Mississippi starts in Yankee land. We just add a whole bunch of character to the water before it gets to you (at the start of the Mason/Dixon line of course).

Kansas,

That explains why when it is brewed in da Big Easy,, it has that much desired flavor,, and presently being brewed up nort.. they use clean water, that explaine the sucky flavor

**on a lighter note; The City of New Orleans claims to have the best water filter system in the world , (yeh, right!)(you can taste and smell the muddy Mississippi) . If it wasn't for these super filters that Dixie Beer it's trademark taste (cattle backwash, industrial pollution, fertilizer runoff, pesticides, ect), It would be just another Bud clone.