Anheuser-Busch InBev
The board of Anheuser-Busch, the USA's biggest brewer, has accepted InBev's latest $25bn$52bn* takeover offer. Although this is a straight acquisition by the Belgian company - as opposed to a merger between the two - the combined entity will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. Once the deal goes through (assuming it does), none of the USA's three largest brewing companies will be domestically owned. BBC News Online has the story.
* The woeful condition of the US dollar means that's somewhat less than it sounds. But it's still rather a lot of money, and more than you could afford.
17 comments:
I'm glad they've kept the InBev bit. It allows the continuation of my favourite Spanish pun/nickname. Spanish-speaking beer lovers often refer to the firm as "InBevible", which sounds identical to Imbebible, which means "undrinkable".
Might point out that the transaction is for $52bn, not $25bn. Even with the state of the dollar, that's a LOT of dosh.
are there world wide laws on Monopoly?
No. There aren't worldwide laws on anything.
Oops, have corrected that error... I was in a rush when I typed it up, this being beer delivery day. By erecting a barrier of empty kegs I managed to avoid any dray disasters this time...
Beer Nut is right - there aren't any truly worldwide laws on anything. I tend toward the view that public international law and custom is only really analogous to a real legal system.
Damn - not InBusch then ...
There was a young girl called Ann Heuser
Who swore than no man could surpreuser
But InBev took a chance
Found a Schlitz in her pants
And now she is sadder Budweiser
i have a simple question-
why should we care one bit about this?
does this change ANYTHING for beerlovers? i say NO...
Well it was either the Belgians or the South Africans (SABMILLER).
Belgium has a very strong beer brewing tradion stretching back to the middle ages when most beers where brewed by monks in monasteries!
Anheuser-Busch was the last of the major corporations that was American owned. Pretty soon we won't own anything anymore.
I know that the Busch's tried to fight this, but when you are not a majority stockholder in your own company, there isn't much you can do. InBev is know for stripping companies apart and keeping only what they deem important.This means that a lot of Americans are going to lose their jobs.
Your beer will prbably be made in Brazil now, like a lot of the InBev brands, so Budweiser probably won't taste like Bud anymore. No more Nascar tie ins, or Clydsdale commercials during the Superbowl. But hey, you just keep on drinking.
Candylady2m, you do realise this website isn't American? References to "we" and "your beer" look a little odd here!
I think your concerns are misplaced. InBev have bought A-B precisely because of its incredible strength in the US market - which includes its breweries and its vast distribution network, and all the workers it employs.
Perhaps the Budweiser brands might be promoted slightly less in order to increase market share for Stella and Beck's (already distributed by A-B, incidentally). However, I don't think InBev will want to trash the image of the "King of Beers".
I am a local small business owner here in Saint Louis (former home of Anheuser Busch).
I am fed up with all the jobs getting outsourced overseas, and foreign companies buying us up. If it wasn't for the low current value of the dollar InBev wouldn't have been able to even get the financing.
I just signed up at http://www.boycottab.net
I'd rather buy from a locally owned and operated business then help support foreign owned companies.
I'd rather buy from a locally owned and operated business then help support foreign owned companies
Robert, if the rest of the world said that about American companies, such as Microsoft, Ford, GM, Wal-Mart (which owns one of the UK's bigegst supermarket chains), Google, Apple, Coca-Cola, Coors (ditto one of Britain's biggest brewers), Disney, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, and hundreds more, just how much more stuffed do you think the American economy would be than it is now? Get over yourself. This is a global economy, and America benefits more than it loses.
Well said, Zythophile. The reaction to this deal has shown some people just don't understand the concept of a global economy.
Robert also said that "If it wasn't for the low current value of the dollar InBev wouldn't have been able to even get the financing". I don't know how he arrived at that conclusion - I doubt he's fully appraised of the economics of the deal.
Predictions for the global economy — the likes of Fuller’s will be bought by up by the likes of Tesco, Wal-Mart, Northrop Grumman or Thomson & Co, while craft brewers will operate under the Ryan Air/Santander umbrella. And why not, we won’t be worrying about beer when climate change really takes hold.
Speak for yourself, Arthur.
I think Robert's commitment to supporting smaller breweries is to be commended. Well done, sir.
Does anyone know if this merger means that every fully American-owned brewery now operates solely in the US?
If so, when was the last time that was the case?
Perhaps the Budweiser brands might be promoted slightly less in order to increase market share for Stella and Beck's (already distributed by A-B, incidentally). However, I don't think InBev will want to trash the image of the "King of Beers".
Apparently, the strategy is to take Bud, which has a rather low international profile, global. This is bad news for everyone, particularly fans of the smaller indigenous breweries around the world. Can Soberana compete with Bud when InBud invades Panama? Will Singha survive in Thailand? Will InBev turn Bud loose in Belgium (or whatever its pieces are about to become), and what effect will this have on some of the venerable old brands there?
Color me fearful.
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