BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 7, 2008
Belgian Brewer Battles For Anheuser-Busch
InBev Turns Up Heat On Bud's Maker With Move To Install A Friendly Board Of Directors
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Photo
In this June 12, 2008 file photo, crates of Beck's beer are seen on the grounds of the InBev brewery in Bremen, northern Germany. (AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach)
It is proposing its own board for Anheuser, which includes Adolphus Busch IV, the uncle of CEO August Busch IV.
InBev said in a statement it would file a preliminary consent solicitation with the Securities and Exchange Commission later Monday.
The maker of Stella Artois claimed its hand has been forced because Anheuser has refused to enter takeover talks.
Anheuser-Busch Cos rejected an unsolicited $46 billion purchase offer from InBev at the end of June, just hours after the Belgian brewer appeared to set the stage for a hostile takeover bid.
August Busch IV sent a letter to InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito saying the offer greatly undervalued the largest U.S. brewer, calling the $65-a-share price "financially inadequate" and not in the best interests of its shareholders.
"From your standpoint, we see that now could be opportunistic timing for you to make this acquisition, given the weak U.S. dollar and sluggish U.S. stock market," Busch said in the letter. "From the standpoint of the Anheuser-Busch shareholder, however, a transaction with InBev at this time would mean forgoing the greater value obtainable from Anheuser-Busch's strategic growth plan."
InBev filed a suit the same day in Delaware court, where Anheuser-Busch is incorporated, seeking to officially declare that shareholders can remove all 13 members of Anheuser-Busch's board. It was the first step to rally Anheuser-Busch shareholders to accept InBev's offer, even if management is opposed to it.
"This is an extremely aggressive step," said Douglas Cogen, a mergers and acquisitions attorney with the Fenwick & West law firm in San Francisco.
In most acquisitions, a rejection from the target company's board of directors might draw out a sweeter offer. InBev's move suggested it was not interested in a lot of bartering, Cogen said.
Busch said in his letter to Brito that Anheuser-Busch had its own plan to boost its stock price. The stock was trading around $50 before speculation began to simmer about InBev's all-cash offer of $65 a share.
"Our company already has developed a detailed, accelerated earnings growth plan ..." Busch said in the letter. The company plans to expand its cost-cutting initiative, called the Blue Ocean, to save more than $750 million through 2009, and save $1 billion through 2010.
The company also plans to drive additional sales for its core brands of Budweiser and Bud Light through "new consumer opportunities."
The letter did not lay out details for these plans, nor set a specific timeframe by which Anheuser-Busch could boost share value.
Shares of the U.S. brewer fell 41 cents to $61.35 in trading after news of the buyout rejection.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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History shows that a democracy exists, on average, about 200 years. We''ve about run our course.
In your mind, is it acceptable for an American company to take over a foreign-owned company in another country or is it also a disgrace?
You remind me of those people who used to scream "buy American!" when Detroit was turning out *** cars and the Japanese were kicking their a$$.
There is no such thing as an "American" company. People who tell you otherwise are rubes or have a vested (ie financial) interest in you believing this fiction.
The american revolution of guarding against dictators, oligarchs, kings has succumbed to the apathy, shortsightedness and ignorance of its people who listened to the deception of hoes like Limbaugh.
The so called "liberal" media that was all for Obama...well, the tone has changed and they are clearly softer on their criticisms of demented McCain. It''s obvious, oligarchs are performing a hostile takeover on democracies.
Posted by dancemomstl
This is "privatization" that the the right wing neo cons are strong proponents of. Listen to what Henry Kissinger says. There are no national borders beyond increasing numbers of gated communities of an elite that will demand unique protection like the kings of old. The elite speak of centuries of people looking to their government to protect them which Kissinger says is no longer the future. Kissinger speaks of international world order. These "american" companies never were "american". They called themselves american when convenient like Lee Iococca telling everyone to buy american in the late 70s because his company needed the market. We are consumers, not americans. Private business is about profit and growth, not about community, patriotism and citizenship. Those are bleeding heart liberal terms at the very core.
In your mind, is it acceptable for an American company to take over a foreign-owned company in another country or is it also a disgrace?
Posted by juwboy
Jewboy, what''s your take on this beyond this old beer company? What do you see for the future of citizens residing in the current borders of the United States?
Posted by URSODUMB
The truth. If every liberal were dead, your subsidy check would end. There would be no services or society to exploit and like any parasite you''d die because you need the liberals to survive. Amazing how some of these deluded nut cases assert the idea that right wing conservative with everyone but themselves neo cons are the ones who pay taxes. What a big lie that is.
Posted by ninas4
How many psychiatric patients are actually logged on?
Posted by zgomer
That''s the sad delusion. We the people are dragging along behind the global free market. Those driving the market are filling their pockets. Aren''t people listening to the likes of Henry Kissinger? These oligarchs really are overriding the constitution of the U.S. They are telling us we cannot be looking to Nanny government to protect us. Without our government and our constitution we have no protection from the "new international world order". Henry Kissinger speaks clearly of this.
They have the made the Federal Reserve Notes worthless and now ImBev is exploiting America like we used to do with 3rd world countries in buying up all of their state-owned oil companies and banana companies.
It''s a taste of our own medicine. Get used to it folks. This is just the beginning, soon all of our banks and companies will be foreign owned.
I keep saying this but it seems that nobody cares as all some people want to do is bash Bush. I know that he should have been gone four years ago. That did not happen but we are almost done with him. We need to be focused on getting our Country straighted out. If we allow these foreign Countries to keep on buying our companies we are lost.
This "one world order" business is total BS.
We are losing big time with this program.
Ah the days when belgium is loaning america money.
I hear ya, what Bush has done is done but we all need to agree on who is the enemy and take ''em down.
The Federal Reserve System needs to go into receivership by Congress so it can conduct bankruptcy. Then a new Bretton-Woods conference among the more powerfull nations like China, India, Russia and U.S. of course to hammer a frame work of a new Gold Standard and get rid of this floating exchange rate nonsense.
That way soveriegn nations are protected from exploitation and agreements like NAFTA would be forced to be fair trade instead of free trade garbage.
Jerryomara, You sir are a LIAR! American beers have no taste !! if Becks (a tasty beer) purchases A-Bush and adds flavor to the beer ,who will we look down our noses at ? Wine drinkers? Hardly, they are busy looking down their noses at us.
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by dchu76
July 8, 2008 5:03 PM PDT
- ***, I was just in awe of a hostile take over with Microsoft, now beer?! Does this mean Budweiser is going to be considered an import now, because I really need a good laugh. How is it even possible to literally force a company to sell, though? I can''''t even wrap my head around it.
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Posted by spadeisspade at 11:52 PM : Jul 07, 2008
They can force in basic terms an election. If they get a percentage of shareholders to agree (35%) then they can force a shareholders meeting. Where all the shareholders get to yay or nay the deal through proxy. And if InBev gets enough votes the deal goes through. Remember its a public company where majority rules. Teh shareholders in turn can take cash for the shares or get new shares issued to them for the new company.