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Belgium's InBev Mulls Budweiser Takeover

Stella maker could make unsolicited bid

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 24, 2008 12:48 PM CDT

(Newser) – Belgian-based brewer InBev NV is considering an unsolicited takeover of Anheuser-Busch, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Busch family is loathe to sell the 150-year-old American icon and brewer of Budweiser—Executive August A. Busch IV vowed it wouldn’t happen “on my watch”—but activist investors have been scooping up shares, hoping to force the issue. InBev and Anheuser are the world’s second- and third-largest brewers by volume.

Ever since SABMiller and Coors Brewing Co. combined their US operations, other brewers have been searching for counter-moves. An InBev/Anheuser deal has long been rumored, because the companies have little geographic overlap. InBev, maker of Stella Artois and Beck’s, has a small presence in America, the most profitable beer market, but is formidable in Western Europe and developing markets.

A Budweiser sign is seen atop one of the buildings at the Anhueser-Busch brewery Monday, April 21, 2008, in St. Louis.
A Budweiser sign is seen atop one of the buildings at the Anhueser-Busch brewery Monday, April 21, 2008, in St. Louis.   (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Budweiser chills in the cooler of a liquor store in southeast Denver on Monday, May 7, 2007.
Budweiser chills in the cooler of a liquor store in southeast Denver on Monday, May 7, 2007.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The Stella Artois corporate logo at the Inbev Brewery on November 30, 2006 in Leuven, Belgium.
The Stella Artois corporate logo at the Inbev Brewery on November 30, 2006 in Leuven, Belgium.   (Getty Images)
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