'King of Beers' Gets a Taste of Own Medicine

Deal now tops $50 million, and Anheuser is likely to accept

(NEWSER) - InBev has increased its bid for Anheuser-Busch to $70 a share, the Wall Street Journal reports. Although willing to replace the Budweiser-brewer’s board in a hostile takeover, the $5-per-share boost—bringing the total deal to $50 billion—is a signal that InBev would prefer to keep things friendly. Anheuser will probably accept the new offer, sources told the Journal. More»

(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»

Historic change for American beer king

(NEWSER) - Legendary American brewing company Anheuser-Busch has agreed to a $52 billion takeover bid by the Belgian-Brazilian InBev, building the largest beer firm in the world and ending over 150 years of ownership by the Anheuser and Busch families, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $70-per-share deal is a step up from an earlier, rejected offer. More»

But US outrage is understandable

(NEWSER) - Belgian beer company InBev’s bid for Anheuser-Busch may look like an affront to a US tradition—but it's perfectly in keeping with the American spirit of entrepreneurship, writes Maureen Ogle in the Washington Post. It’s “precisely the sort of bold strike that launched the American Revolution and still fuels the American dream"—and if Adolphus Busch were alive today, he’d hire InBev’s CEO. More»

Anheuser-Busch now may face a hostile takeover bid

(NEWSER) - Anheuser-Busch plans to reject Belgian brewer InBev's $46 billion offer to buy the company, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision is not expected to deter InBev, however, which could launch a hostile takeover bid, the Journal notes. InBev wants to acquire the St. Louis brewer—the maker of Budweiser—to create the world's largest beer maker. More»