Belgium Brewer Prepares to Bid for Anheuser-Busch

[GuyInLenexa]

It sounds like another iconic American company will possibly taken over from a foreign firm (Belgium;s InBev).

http://www.reuters.com/article/business ... 6120080601

This a.m.'s St.Louis Post-Dispatch has an article on the possiblity of  losing the world headquarters in STL.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument

I personally hope that is is not taken over or merged and the headquarters stays in the Midwest.  A-B is such an iconic corporation almost like Coca-Cola.   :(

[KCMax]

Would that make Boulevard the largest American brewery in Missouri?

[ntbpo]

Just heard on 550 (talk radio here in STL) that InBev was interested in persuing SAB Miller if a deal with AB couldn't be reached. Sounds like AB stockholders are gonna turn this buyout down.   Great news for STL and the state of MO in general.

[KCPowercat]

Good news....glad to see the shareholders not thinking only of their pocketbooks.

[kuslamb]

Good news....glad to see the shareholders not thinking only of their pocketbooks.

For what reason do you think these shareholders invest in the company?  For that matter, why does any shareholder invest in any company?

[GuyInLenexa]

In this morning's London Times it sounds like InBev is going on with their preparation for financing of this possible "deal".  It sounds like the Busch family who is influential but only owning around four percent of the company is against it.
InBev sounds like it is a big cost savings company; if this deal goes through I am certain that it would have a negative affect on STL and other cities that have major operations with AB operations.
I was not aware that Warren Buffet has an apparent large or sizable stake in InBev.  I also was not aware that their company owned Beck's.
I'm sure that many other American companies will be ripe for picking as long as the USD is at such a low ratio against the burgeoning Euro.
This should be interesting to see how it develops.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 038764.ece

[ntbpo]

This is an article from Reuters UK.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Anheuser-Busch hires financial advisers
Tue Jun 3, 2008 6:37am BST

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch hired Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup as financial advisers as it braces for a potential takeover bid from Belgian brewing company InBev, sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

InBev, the world's second-biggest brewer, has not yet decided whether to proceed with a bid for Anheuser-Busch, sources said. A merger of the two brewers has been rumoured for the last 18 months.

Anheuser-Busch, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all declined to comment. InBev could not be reached immediately for comment.

Anheuser-Busch is "doing all the normal things you do when you feel like you're under attack. You circle the wagons and stockpile food and ammunition," said one source, who declined to be named.

Even if Anheuser-Busch fails to get an offer from InBev, its financial advisers will help explore various strategic options, sources said.

According to media reports, InBev has been trying to arrange a $50 billion (25 billion pound) funding package from a group of banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Banco Santander.

It still is premature to speculate about funding details since InBev has yet to decide on a bid for Anheuser-Busch, one source cautioned.

Yet, given the tight credit markets and the difficulty in raising funding for deals, InBev would need the assurance of financing before it could press ahead with a formal offer, other sources said.

InBev, the brewer of Stella Artois, Beck's and Brahma, is eager to reclaim the title of the world's biggest brewer that it lost to SABMiller earlier this year and drive consolidation in the global brewing industry. Continued...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessN ... 5420080603

[KCPowercat]

The bid is in.  $65/share, $46B deal all together.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument

Man it will be sick seeing the largest brewer in the US owned oversees.

[LindseyLohan]

Who drinks bud anyway? Not anyone I know...

[NDTeve]

Who drinks bud anyway? Not anyone I know...

Is that a joke?

[WSPanic]

Is that a joke?

I'm pretty much a beer snob, but I like Budweiser, Coors and Miller High Life. It's the light products I don't enjoy. Light american lagers have their place.

[kard]

Who drinks bud anyway? Not anyone I know...

A-B had about 52% of the US Market share in 2004.

Man, this sucks.

[ignatius]

The mergers of these 'water beers' are no surprise.  They have been hit by a huge increase in specialty beers.  Does suck though that many American companies are being bought by foreign companies due to the weak dollar.

I'm all for free trade in the global market and usually do not favor govt restrictions in such areas, but given the weak dollar, many American companies could be sucked up like a vacuum over many years.  The dollar is expected to be weaker for a very long time.  In this case, maybe the Feds need to have tighter restrictions of foreign acquisitions, allow those that truly benefit the American company rather than being driven by a cheap deal for the purchaser.

[LenexatoKCMO]

The mergers of these 'water beers' are no surprise. 

Think of the gains in efficiency - they can produce the same essentially flavorlous lager in even vaster quantities and just put it in different packaging for different markets. 

[chrizow]

i have a soft spot in my heart for A-B, mostly because of my love for the city of st. louis.  for that reason, i do occasionally indulge in a Budweiser (i.e. "Bud Heavy") when i want a refreshing beer served ice-cold.  there is something really classic about it that i like.  it seems like the Budweiser brand is too strong and valuable for InBev to do much to it - i.e. i doubt they want to "water down" the A-B presence and brand.  i bet they keep the brewery going in STL and elsewhere in the US, though i have no doubt there will be some consolidation, layoffs, etc.  not a painless process, but 156 years of independence is pretty incredible in this era of business.

[warwickland]

i have a soft spot in my heart for A-B, mostly because of my love for the city of st. louis.  for that reason, i do occasionally indulge in a Budweiser (i.e. "Bud Heavy") when i want a refreshing beer served ice-cold.  there is something really classic about it that i like.  it seems like the Budweiser brand is too strong and valuable for InBev to do much to it - i.e. i doubt they want to "water down" the A-B presence and brand.  i bet they keep the brewery going in STL and elsewhere in the US, though i have no doubt there will be some consolidation, layoffs, etc.  not a painless process, but 156 years of independence is pretty incredible in this era of business.

i thought i heard a-b is now pursuing a merger with Grupo Modelo (corona) to try to stave off InBev? seems like A-B is fighting tooth and nail. funny, a couple years ago i would just as soon drink piss as budweiser, but i'll admit, here back at home when im coming over the poplar street bridge, looking across the car-damaged near southside is a depressing sight until i see the old school BUDWEISER sign looming over a much more urban landscape 3 miles to the south, lending an incredible sense of place and time.

theres a definite, and way overblown sense here that if A-B is sold, st. louis will be dealt a catastrophic blow. it just shows how ingrained A-B is in st. louis...here its not just another pisswater corn beer. But...perhaps if it is sold...Schlafly will rise as BLVD has in KC.

in a related note, i was blown away a couple of weekends ago when i was in kc to see BLVD commercials during royals games. unlike a couple years ago, i love how BLVD is going big, and making quality beer mainstream again.

[KCMax]

BLVD is the official sponsor of Royals pre- and post- game shows. Its pretty awesome to have a local company support the team like that.

[ntbpo]

  I was reported in the Wall Street Journal that the A-B board of directors has rejected Inbev's 47 billion dollar offer at $65 per share. This is going to set the stage for an interesting hostile takeover attempt by Inbev. I hope this takeover can be averted and we can keep atlest one of the major US breweries headquarted in the country.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080625/bs_ ... erbusch_dc


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1214431 ... whats_news

[PumpkinStalker]

So apparently the takeover could be imminent.

http://www.kmbc.com/money/16851936/detail.html

Has anyone else noticed a huge increase in commercials pimping the "Americaness" of Bud and the Busch descendant giving pep talks in his commercials about the brand?  Seems odd when they are about to be taken over.

Depressing.  As much as I despise the beer itself, it's not like we have too many companies like them left that are not foreign owned.

[warwickland]

supposedly a done deal @ 70. that's alright, i'll just step up my efforts to help schlafly/lemp/griesdieck grow.