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Sunday, July 13, 2008

InBev Buys Anheuser-Busch for $49.91B

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The King of Beers has been checkmated by a foreign rival.

The board of Anheuser-Busch (BUD) on Sunday agreed to sell itself to Belgian-beer giant InBev NV for $70 a share, for a total value of $49.91 billion. The combined company will be named Anheuser-Busch InBev and Anheuser will get two seats on the board.

It marks a dramatic shift for the Bud board and its managing Busch family, which, despite some support for the bid from some members, initially fought the idea of a takeover by InBev, which makes Stella Artois, among other popular brands.

But, despite spending weeks fighting the offer - and even initiating legal action to thwart a hostile bid - the Anheuser-Busch board ultimately headed to the bargaining table last week once InBev agreed to raise the price to $70 from $65.

The combined companies are now the world’s largest brewer with more than $35 billion in sales across 300 brands worldwide. SABMiller is currently the largest beer maker in the world.

The deal now is likely to face some political backlash. Local officials in Anheuser-Busch’s home city of St. Louis, Mo., have been fearful that InBev’s deal will cut jobs, and members of Congress have also expressed concern about such a large foreign company owning such a well-known American brand.

But Anheuser-Busch shareholders aren’t expected to have such qualms. Some publicly raised questions about why the company was so against a deal and balked when Anheuser-Busch’s board floated the idea of a takeover of its 50% stake in Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo as a way to fend off the Belgian suitor.

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