The gauntlet has been thrown. This ought to be a good ride.

BELGIAN BREWER MAKES $46 BILLION ANHEUSER-BUSCH BID - New York Post

Just saw on NBC Nightly News that the offer is likely to be rejected.

I don't know how much stock the Busch family retains, but i would bet it is significant. The family has so much money and so much pride in their company (did you know that the wagon with those Clydesdales delivered the first beer brewed after prohibition to the White House?) that a few more billion dollars is not enough to sell out an American icon.

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"The Counterfeiter"

If the Busch family doesn't control 51%, they may not have much of a choice.

Jim

"Busch family members own a small percentage of Anheuser stock, so even if a majority of them were to oppose a deal, they could not block one."

Anheuser-Busch/Inbev about value, not family: report | Reuters

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--Medicated for your safety!!--

Calm down everybody.

At this point, In-Bev's bid is still a long shot or, at least, not a forgone conclusion.

That said, part of A-B's success is the fact that they're embedded in America's everyday leisure activity. How often do you see their signage at local and regional sports or festivals? You can expect a lot of their marketing activity to continue.

'sides, KB is savvy enough to have a CONTRACT!

And we all know how contracts can be broken, bought out, etc..

Who would've thought that Miller would be sold to a foreign company..

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Looks like I'll be needing some ice cream after today!!

An American icon? I'm here to tell you that in the business world, the general reaction to that will be "Your point is?"

From an Associated Press article:


"Anheuser-Busch said that its board of directors will evaluate the proposal carefully and in the context of all relevant factors, including Anheuser-Busch's long-term strategic plan," the company said in a prepared statement. "The board will pursue the course of action that is in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch's stockholders."


Now think about what that means for a minute. The "best interest" for the stockholders means getting as high a price for their stock holdings as they can. Whether the eventual owners of the company are American or not is irrelevant in the business world. Yes, there are probably "contracts" in place for KB's sponsorship deal, but there are also lawyers out there whose sole business involves the practice of dissolving said contracts. When a company is sold to new owners, nothing is sacred. InBev has a reputation for buying companies and slashing costs. Sports sponsorships cost money.

I'd think that executives from a company from the other side of the pond would probably think "What's this drag racing thing about? Look how much money this operation is costing us......."

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AKA DrRocket

Not that it matters much, but I believe the Busch family stake is around 3%. Very small, but obviously worth a lot of money. David Faber on CNBC was saying that this deal has started out as a "friendly" cash offer, but will likely get very heated and ugly very soon. There's no telling what the long-term effects will be on their sports marketing programs, time will tell. KB has had a fantastic run, and hopefully it continues for a long time, however we have to remember that nothing stays the same, and nothing lasts forever.

Last report is the family owns less than 5% of the company stock.

yes, actually it is. And it wouldn't be the first icon. Or the last.

The Chrysler Building is about to be sold to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund for about $800 million US.

If InBev really wants AB, it will buy it. The only questions with be how much and friendly or hostile.

Jim

They (InBev) still have to raise the money and clear the hurdles to do the deal.

Politics an obstacle for InBev's Anheuser-Busch bid - Yahoo! News

It looks like America is up for sale to the rest of the world.

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"Double the powder and shorten the fuse"

http://www.myspace.com/pyromethane

Unfortunately, that has been pretty much fact for a long time. I can think of several "small" things that seemed to be nothing much, or just a little bit, or because it was less expensive to... that have lead to this.