ST. LOUIS, July 13, 2008
Anheuser-Busch Agrees To Belgian Buyout
Giant European Brewer InBev Reportedly To Acquire Iconic American Beer Maker For About $52 Billion
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In this June 12, 2008 file photo, crates of Beck's beer are seen on the ground of the InBev brewery in Bremen, northern Germany. Anheuser-Busch reportedly has agreed to be acquired by Belgian brewer InBev. (AP PHOTO)
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The deal, which is subject to shareholders' and regulators' approval, would create the world's largest brewer and create the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide. The Wall Street Journal first reported the merger on Sunday, citing anonymous sources who said Anheuser-Busch-InBev would be the new company's name and Anheuser would have two seats on the board.
The newspaper said the deal was for $70 a share, a $5 increase over the offer Anheuser-Busch rejected in June.
InBev, the maker of Stella Artois and Becks, is the world's second-largest beer-maker behind SABMiller. Anheuser-Busch is by far the largest brewer in the United States with more than 48 percent of the market share.
It wasn't immediately clear how long approval might take from regulators and shareholders. Several Missouri politicians have expressed concerns about the merger - especially how it would affect the approximate 6,000 people employed by Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.
InBev has said it plans to use St. Louis as its North American headquarters, and that it will keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch's North American breweries.
InBev SA announced its intent to try and purchase Anheuser-Busch on June 11. The Anheuser-Busch board initially voted against the merger, calling the initial $65 per share offer too low.
That prompted much squabbling between the companies over the past few weeks. InBev filed a motion seeking the removal of all 13 Anheuser-Busch board members; Anheuser-Busch filed suit calling the InBev effort an "illegal scheme" that threatened to defraud Anheuser-Busch shareholders. Among other things, the suit noted that InBev failed to disclose it operates a brewery in Cuba.
So it was with some surprise when reports surfaced on Friday that the two companies were sitting down for merger talks, reportedly after InBev upped its offer by $5 to $70 per share.
Fast Fact
The merger, if completed, will bring to an end one of the most iconic names in American business, and a name synonymous with St. Louis. From college buildings to offices to the stadium where the Cardinals play, the Busch name is virtually everywhere in the Gateway City.InBev has not said publicly whether the merger will mean layoffs for the Anheuser-Busch workforce.
Eberhard Anheuser acquired the Bavarian brewery in 1860 and renamed it E. Anheuser & Co. His son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, joined the company in 1864 and it was eventually renamed Anheuser-Busch.
The company survived Prohibition by selling products ranging from ice cream to root beer.
In addition to opposition from politicians and civic leaders, at least two Web sites sprung up opposing the merger. SaveBudweiser.com claims to have more than 60,000 signatures from merger opponents. SaveAB.com hosted a recent anti-merger rally that drew hundreds to downtown St. Louis.
InBev has not said if layoffs will occur as a result of the merger. But some cutbacks seem likely.
Even without the merger, Anheuser-Busch said last month it planned to cut pension and health benefits for salaried employees as part of an effort to slash $1 billion in costs by the end of 2010. The plan called for offering early retirement to 1,300 salaried workers 55 and older.
The cost-cutting effort - dubbed "Blue Ocean" by the company - was part of a strategy to fend off the merger.
The beer industry has been consolidating in recent years amid rising costs for transportation fuel and key ingredients.
InBev has not said publicly whether the merger will mean layoffs for the Anheuser-Busch workforce.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 25 Comments
- The U.S. is slowly becoming a third world country. AB stabbed the American worker in the back and now the middle-class is going to suffer. Are there any 100% American-Owned companies left? This is not a buy-out, it is a sell-out. Thanks corporate America.
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- What''s really amazing is that so many losers have drank enough of that p|ss water to make Buttwiper worth $52 billion.
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- This is horrible...what a sad day for St. Louis and the rest of America.
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- This takeover can only improve the beer. Bud is real bilge water.
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- Take Overs are all about Greed!
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- Screw Anheuser-Busch... bunch of sell-out b@stards.
One more sellout confirming that America is no longer a country but a MARKET. I won''''t drink another Budweiser in my life. BOOOOOOO!
Posted by neocon9
You mean you have been drinking that sh*it? Even the microbrews s*u*ck in this country. British, Belgian, German...there you will find some good beers. - Reply to this comment
- read some of David C. Korten''s books. Someday the "global economy" will certainly die when the energy required to ship cr*ap tens of thousands of miles around the planet is no longer available. Till then, the world''s people must take charge and isolate and marginalize the global corporate elite oligarchs who are promoting the so called "free" but otherwise humanity oppressing global market and the quest for privatization of all resources including water.
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- Maybe That''s why John McCain said he would "VETO EVERY BEER".
Will this "sale" like the Harkin Oil "sale" lead to more INSIDIOUS things years down the road? Only time will tell. Keating 5 is the predecessor of the LATEST FINANCIAL COLLAPSE.
Maybe this will lead to a "beer shortage" and a "beer cartel" will encourage a PRICE MONOPOLY on ANOTHER American so-called "necessity" like cigarettes, fattening food, gas, oil, highways going to toll roads and next up - your water when some "CORPORATION" buys that up. - Reply to this comment
- Budweiser sucks anyway. Maybe they''ll improve it.
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- I think everyone has a right to be frustrated here, unfortunately this kind of stuff happens all the time it seems.
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- Screw Anheuser-Busch... bunch of sell-out b@stards.
One more sellout confirming that America is no longer a country but a MARKET. I won''t drink another Budweiser in my life. BOOOOOOO! - Reply to this comment
- Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. did not return messages seeking comment Sunday evening. "
Oh yeah right like anyone is going to be in the corporate OFFICE on a Sunday night, get real!!! what moron of a reporter would call a business office on a freaking Sunday night? You may as well call the local post office o n a Sunday night expecting anyone to answer it. - Reply to this comment
- If you want to see the TRAITOR Bud brands, go to http://www.anheuser-busch.com/BeerVerified.html
Its a shame that I will also have to stop drinking Michelob, which I started drinking back in the seventies, and Bacardi which I have imbibed enough of the fill a swimming pool. - Reply to this comment
- I wonder if SAM ADAMS is all American beer? I am really developing a taste for it.
Posted by edintex at 12:21 AM : Jul 14, 2008
Don''t worry. With the dollar steadily losing value, Sam Adams will be bought out soon enough, along with just about everything else. - Reply to this comment
- Americans should vote their opinion on this great big SELLOUT by voting with their pocketbooks.
I never thought Bud was the best beer, but I bought bud at different events because it was THE OLD TIME AMERICAN beer. If this merger goes through, I vow to NEVER buy Bud ever again. I will do my best to change others drinking preferences too. I wont be hard; everybody I know is already talking about doing the same.
I wonder if SAM ADAMS is all American beer? I am really developing a taste for it. - Reply to this comment
- Two words:
MICRO BREWS!!!
Keeps our money local, and the local economy working!
(And it just tastes MANY TIMES BETTER than the pisss water called Budweiser)
Posted by DaysRnumbrd at 11:40 PM : Jul 13, 2008
TWO WORDS: TRAITOR!!
Budweiser is like the necter of the GODS!!!
Just because Bud will be manufactured and owned by Belgians does not make it unAmerican!!
Maybe if we beg the Belgians enough we can can can the product here in America with cheap child labor or adled seniors with nothing better to do!!! - Reply to this comment
- On the bright side, America is still pretty good at making weapons, if nothing else.
Until the weapon manufacturers move their factories overseas, that is.
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Posted by incog-nito at 11:52 PM : Jul 13, 2008
Already happening, the millatary ordering 200 cargo planes from Airbus. Not to dwell on it, but mccain facilated it. - Reply to this comment
- On the bright side, America is still pretty good at making weapons, if nothing else.
Until the weapon manufacturers move their factories overseas, that is. - Reply to this comment
- Just so you know who the sell-outs are:
The nation''s third-largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch is Hensley, whose chairwoman is founder James Hensley''s daughter, Cindy McCain, who just happens to control over $1 million of Anheuser-Busch common stock and who is the wife and financial controller of Johhny McShame, the repug candidate for president. - Reply to this comment
- Two words:
MICRO BREWS!!!
Keeps our money local, and the local economy working!
(And it just tastes MANY TIMES BETTER than the pisss water called Budweiser) - Reply to this comment
