InBev Brews Plan to Oust Anheuser-Busch Directors

(NEWSER) - The nation’s largest brewers plan to raise beer prices in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reports. Anheuser-Busch InBev—maker of Budweiser—and MillerCoors will further test the notion that beer is generally recession-proof. “The environment is very favorable, we think,” says an Anheuser exec. Both companies have been able to offset sales slumps by raising prices in the last year. More»

Jobs, perks, executive suites disappear

(NEWSER) - Things haven't tasted the same since InBev's takeover—and makeover—of Anheuser-Busch, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cost-cutting has become paramount at a firm once known for its cushy treatment of employees. Jobs have been sliced, executive suites knocked down, and benefits like free baseball tickets made rare. Anheuser-Busch Inbev “is like a start-up,” says the firm’s US boss. “That excites some people and turns off others.” More»

...and realize it's a lot like watery piss, actually

(NEWSER) - Anyone who thinks InBev’s buyout of Budweiser represents the end of American beer needs a history lesson, writes Edward McClelland in Salon. Budweiser became the “King of Beers” by killing every other heir to the throne. In 1960, America had 175 traditional, regional breweries, making lagers just like Bud. Anheuser-Busch systematically crushed them all, through its distribution and marketing might. More»

If relationship with Modelo hadn't soured on fishing trip, Belgians might have been staved off

(NEWSER) - Anyone mourning the takeover of Anheuser Busch by Belgium's InBev might want to know that the real turning point in that battle occurred more than a decade ago. On a fishing trip. In Mexico. The last real chance to outmaneuver InBev was lost when the US brewer failed to get a controlling stake in Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, writes David Kesmodel in the Wall Street Journal. And chances for that, say industry sources, vanished when former A-B CEO August Busch III decided to take a call instead of landing a humongous marlin. More»

Stock belonging to McCain's wife worth up to $5.6M in takeover

(NEWSER) - The $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch means Cindy McCain's stock in the brewing giant is worth between $2.8 million and $5.6 million, Reuters calculates. Though the presidential campaign of her husband, Republican John McCain, didn't say how many shares Cindy owns, it appears she and her dependents have between 40,000 and 80,000 shares—for which InBev's bid offers $70 apiece. More»