Budweiser Sold To The Maker Of Stella Artois, Becks
It seems that $70 a share was enough for Anheuser-Busch -- the brewer agreed to sell itself to Belgian beer giant InBev over the weekend. The new company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, and its board will have room for two former A-B executives, including A-B CEO, August A. Busch IV.
The joint press release stated that the company's headquarters will remain in St. Louis and that no A-B breweries will close as a result of the buy-out.
The NYT says:
The deal marked a sharp reversal for Anheuser, based since it was founded in St. Louis. When InBev announced its initial $46.3 billion offer last month, Anheuser mounted a fierce defense. It drew upon its heritage and its history as a major benefactor of its hometown, and argued that it could increase its profits alone.
A new offer of $52 billion changed their minds, however.
Oddly, this sale means that Rolling Rock, formerly owned by InBev and sold to A-B in 2006, will now be part of InBev again.
Anheuser-Busch Agrees to Be Sold for $52 Billion [NYT]
(Photo: davidbivins )
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Hooray! Maybe domestic Bud won't suck now!
The entire board was against it. Until InBev told AB they'd replace the board. I guess the prospect of getting $6 Billion and job security is enough to make anyone change their mind...
Now all that's needed is for SABMiller to merge with A-B InBev, and all the world's beer will be united under one umbrella.
Does this mean that I finally don't have to drive a goddamn hour to get my Stella Artois? Someone please tell me Stella will finally make an appearance at my small town grocery store.
US consumers won't see much if any changes. The two operations don't overlap very much and InBev will keep Budweiser's US headquarters the same. This means there probably won't be much in the way of consoldiation and job cuts.
I never really saw how A-B was against this - I mean, InBev can use its distribution network in Europe to sell Bud, and Budweiser can use its distribution network to sell Stella and Hoegaarden and all of those wonderful European beers we don't get around here. Everyone wins. It's not like InBev was going to shutter a successful beer company, just because.
This is awesome. Bud must be a good beer now, it's Belgian!
BTW: For all the sourpussies that are hurt about loosing an American icon: please send your thank you notes to:
George W. Bush,
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW,
Washington, DC
whose administation oversaw the a drop of the dollar-euro exchange rate from 1€=$1.01 to 1€=$1.57, without giving a d@mn.
In other words: the economic policies of the current administration have given Inbev a 33% discount on Anheuser-Bush.
Depressing... I guess I can't call Bud my beer anymore.
I have never been a fan of Budweiser, but okay, sounds like economy is in the crapper and I need to learn additional foreign language to enjoy living here for near future....
I am a Sam Adams/Heineken chica all the way, maybe now Bud will actually be worth drinking.
Amazing what a mere $6 billion will do. I'll remember that for the next time I own a corporation that can more or less print money, which is in the middle of a company acquisition negotiation.
@Nepkarel: Had a good laugh with that one!
Here's to local breweries! Flying Dog, FTW!
I see no bad in this. Especially if Stella becomes more common in the states.
I'm all for piss-tasting American brews to vanish.
@Nepkarel: Exactly and it's disgusting. I'm not sure which foreign language I should be learning either.
I doubt this will make Bud just magically taste better.
Samuel Adams or a local brewery all the way.
The one thing i thought would always be American. This country get worst to live in everyday...
I'll agree that Budweiser is not the best beer out there by any means, but it definately has a place in our bars. There's a huge bar market out there that doesn't care so much about taste vs. price. Some people still drink to get drunk and don't care what it is they are drinking so long as they get drunk before they go broke.
maybe they'll start brewing bud through a brewery instead of through a horse.
it'll still have that nice can-taste, tho. wee in a can, how refreshing!!
at least bud is the easiest beer to recycle. drain can, drain into can, put in fridge, repeat.
You know what sex in a canoe has in common with American beer?
They're both fucking close to water.
Prime example, me drinking by myself at home would be something like grey goose and red bull or crown and coke. Now if I invited guests over to drink, I would buy something like budweiser because it's more neutral, and cheaper. Bud is definately not the worse beer I've ever drank. But then again I wasn't born with elitist taste buds either.
So now all the rednecks instead of talking with a southern accent will now speak german?
If only this meant that Bud would actually have flavor.
Alas ...
Sadly, something never change.
"I'll agree that Budweiser is not the best beer out there by any means, but it definately has a place in our bars."
I couldn't agree more. That place is in two rooms,marked "men" and "women".
I hope Stella is easier to find in the future. I stopped drinking Bud halfway through my first can and haven't gulped any since...
Well, that's one way to get rednecks and frat boys to drink Belgian beer.
This probably isn't good on the grounds that you have a large portion of the market controlled by one very corporate entity. You'll have guys who spend their days in suits looking at confusing charts deciding which beers to market and how. Will the taste of Bud improve in the US? I doubt it. But, you know it may affect the quality of Stella Artois. If they start brewing it in more massive quantities at AB. Simply changing the source of ingredients could go a long way.
crappy beers of the world unite!
This story means nothing to me except that more American businesses and monies are going bye-bye.
As long as we keep our traditional micro-brews, I will be fine.
I just wonder what the frat boys of American will do once Bud actually tastes like beer and not barley-water...sales of Zima have spiked! hahahahahaha [you nancies]
@ Pro-Pain: In Inbev's case, Dutch would be a good option. Inbev's HQ is in Flemish Leuven, a pitoresque city just east of Brussels. [en.wikipedia.org]
Once you've mastered Dutch, you can start working on getting the Flemish accent down - it's a bit softer. Then, in line with the current Belgian political struggles, you need to hate everybody that speaks French. [en.wikipedia.org]
On the other hand, I do think English is safe in the US. Perhaps a bit is Spanish is handy if you want to keep talking to the people that do actual work (clean your trash, keep your garden, pack your groceries).
I think the trend will be new styles/brands produced here in the U.S. by The Big Beer companies based on European styles/brands. (Think Blue Moon)
The cost to transport stuff overseas is high, especially stuff that can be produced here with identical quality.
If you think Becks and Stella are made in a fashion that is different and superior than Budweiser, then you are exactly the person who should be buying Becks and Stella. Yay Marketing Dept!
nothing should change with AB brands, but having a large production base for european brews could mean domestic production of currently imported brands. that's kind of exciting.
on the other hand, AB? say what you want about their beer, but this is a company that screams america & now it's belgian? of all the countries in all the world, they sell out to BELGIANS? *shakes head*
I believe that some of y'all are missing the point.
Say what you like about their beer, but Anheuser-Busch has long been a model corporate citizen and major benefactor to their community.
InBev, on the other hand, has a reputation for ruthless efficiency and cost-cutting to uphold. So this sale will likely end up as a disaster for St. Louis.
All thanks to the value of the U.S. peso, circling ever closer to the drain-hole, which is what you get when you allow the federal debt to increase by two-thirds in seven years.
I wonder what part of my country they'll auction off next...
Grrrr.....
I thought just a few weeks ago the ceo was proclaiming that he would never sell out?
Can't wait to go to InBev Gardens Williamsburg.
Oooooh, I wonder how this will affect Cindy McCain.
Maybe they'll finally have enough to buy that ninth home!
PS: Stella rules, Bud sucks. That is all.
AB might be very glad it took this deal down the road if the American economy sours any further.
I normally don't like two big corporations merging to reduce competition, but I don't think the 'loss' of this American mass-producer is really all that bad. Beer snobs have several small to mid-size businesses selling microbrews, even here in the regressive, backwards territory known as "Alabama".
None of this really matters to me, as wasted bottles of Yuengling and Bud Light Lime have pretty much cemented that I'll never become a beer drinker.
What I find most interesting about this whole deal is how many Americans seem to wrap Budweiser up with American patriotism. It sounds to me like a lot of people fell for a certain kind of marketing...
@Nepkarel:
You've GOT to be kidding me. If I recall, the lion's share of the economic downturn started in late 2006 which just happens to coincide with Congress going left.
Bernake is ALSO not half the fed res chairman that Greenspan was.
This is so not Bush's fault. Look inward, liberals.
I don't drink beer (or any alcohol) at all, but I do find it odd how some people have such an attachment to Budwiser. I mean, if you like it, fine but it's not like it's something sacred. It's a product made by a company. Now it's the same product made by another company.
The original Schlitz is supposed to come back this year so maybe they can drink that if they don't want a "foreign" beer.
@BlazerUnit: i don't have any statistics to prove this, but i'm pretty sure alcohol sales actually increase in bad times.
@ AndyRogers: You need to check your memory. First it was 9/11, now it's the democrats. You know, those guys that have a 9% approval rating because they get nothing done. Get real. The democrats have the exact same approach to economic policy as the republicans: Do nothing and blame the other party. Wohooo!
Also, check this chart of the dollar-euro exchange rate.
Do you see a sudden downturn after 2006? No, I see a constantly downward slope.
BTW: Somebody who points out the facts is not a liberal, but a realist. When it comes to lying, both parties in this country have some soul-searching to do.
While thinking about beer and the other Stella, does anybody have any damn clue how I could possible get Stella Premium Lager, the Egyptian beer owned by Heiniken, here in the states? I don't care if I have to buy it by the case, but a little pointer direction would rock
@Nepkarel: no kidding. one of my favorite quotes:
It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress.
-mark twain
these guys have been inept from the get-go. hey, at least they're consistent!
@Mr_D: "and Budweiser can use its distribution network to sell Stella and Hoegaarden and all of those wonderful European beers we don't get around here"
HOORAY! The more European beer the merrier!
The best beer I've ever had was a bottle of something Polish a DirecTV customer gave me as a tip (I used to install). I don't know what it was (label in Polish) and I can't get more, as it isn't sold here; the fellow brought it back with him from Poland.
@DemolitionMan: determining how to get beer, where to get beer, or if you can even get a type of beer differs based on your state. the best place to start is at your local beer store. if your state works anything like mine, there are a handful of major distributors that local stores purchase beer from & each store has a catalog which lists every type of beer/spirit available & the licensed distributor that carries the product.
you could also try contacting the importing distributor - they often have a list of vendors that receive their product. then, contact the vendor & see who they distribute to.
@Cupajo:
If you're going to quote the great Monty Python, please be good enough to give credit.
Thanks.
So InBev is adding a bottled water company to its portfolio. Interesting.
Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that we can start drinking Rolling Rock again.