.....god let this happen. Then I can make fun of how ****y Euro beer
is and you can't complain:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080612170711.pfri8dda&show_article=1
This Bud's for EU!!!!
Belgian-Brazilian brewing giant InBev wooed Anheuser-Busch on
Thursday, vowing to respect its St. Louis heritage and not close any
US breweries if it accepts a 46-billion-dollar (30-billion-euro)
takeover bid.
InBev, which already owns leading brands such as Stella Artois,
Beck's, Leffe and Brahma, offered 65 dollars a share for Anheuser-
Busch on Wednesday, seeking to build an unrivalled global brewer.
Even though the St. Louis, Missouri-based company said it would
"review the merits" of the takeover, InBev faces stiff opposition from
local politicians and beer lovers, who were quick to attack the
takeover.
The success of the takeover offer will ultimately be decided by
Anheuser-Busch's shareholders.
In early trading in New York, the US beer-maker's stock was 5.9
percent stronger at 61.87 dollars while in Brussels InBev shares fared
even better, surging 6.17 percent to close at 50.21 euros.
Eager to ease fears about the takeover, InBev chief executive Carlos
Brito said that Anheuser-Busch's hometown of St. Louis would not be
only the headquarters of the combined group's North American business
but also its international brands.
Moreover, Anheuser-Busch's well-known Budweiser brew would become the
merged company's global flag****p brand alongside InBev's Stella
Artois, Beck's and Brahma lines.
"We see the potential to take the Budweiser brand and develop it
across our foot print," Brito told a conference call, detailing the
deal.
But perhaps more im****tantly for Anheuser-Busch's employees, Britos
said: "There will be no closure of US breweries as part of this
transaction."
With a takeover, InBev, which claims the title of the world's biggest
beer maker, would create close to a 100-billion-dollar business in the
most ambitious act of cor****ate consolidation since last year's credit
crunch shook the markets.
Anheuser-Busch, which traces its roots to the 1850s, has historically
been cool on being sold, with the Busch family playing a major role.
Britos assurances come amid anxiety about the deal in Missouri, where
Governor Matt Blunt said in a statement he considered the bid "deeply
troubling" and said he was "strongly opposed to the sale of Anheuser-
Busch."
"Anheuser-Busch is a great Missouri company, a great employer, a great
cor****ate citizen and the maker of great products that are enjoyed in
Missouri and around the world," he said.
Meanwhile a website, SaveBudweiser.com, was collecting signatures in
an online petition opposing the sale.
"We will need to scream now more than ever to make sure that the board
of directors and others involved hear our voices and that we don't
want them to accept the offer," said a notice on the website, the
operators of which were not identified.
As of Thursday, more than 31,000 people had signed the online
petition.
Analyst Kris Kippers at Belgian brokerage Petercam said that although
65 dollars a share was "a good bid," InBev might have to raise its
offer to win shareholders over.
"To have a knock-out bid I think the market would expect 70 dollars,"
he told AFP.
While not ruling out a higher offer entirely, Britos stressed: "I
think our 65 dollar all-cash offer is a full and fair price."
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