Anheuser-Busch's board accepted a $52 billion takeover offer from Belgian brewer InBev, creating the world's largest brewer, the two companies announced late Sunday.
The company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, and InBev chief executive officer Carlos Brito will oversee the combined company.
"Together, Anheuser-Busch and InBev will accomplish much more than each can on its own," Brito said in a conference call with reporters Monday.
The announcement ends a month of hostility between the brewer of Budweiser and InBev, which traded lawsuits when InBev tried to oust Anheuser-Busch's board.
"We always tried to engage with the Anheuser-Busch board, and now as a combined team, we want to look forward as opposed to looking backward," Brito said.
The directors of the combined company will be comprised of InBev's board, Anheuser-Busch president and CEO August Busch IV and one other current or former member of Anheuser-Busch's board.
The North American headquarters for the combined company will be St. Louis, and Brito promised to keep all 12 of Anheuser-Busch's U.S. breweries open.
When asked about the potential for job cuts in St. Louis and elsewhere, Brito skirted the question by pointing out that InBev has added 12,000 jobs in the past three years, and Anheuser-Busch's plan to cut costs and and offer employees early retirement will still be executed.
Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck's will become the company's leading global brands, using InBev's existing distribution network, according to a combined statement from the company.
Reports surfaced Friday that Anheuser-Busch's board was poised to accept the offer from InBev, which sweetened its offer by $5 to $70 a share in an effort to seal a friendly deal.
InBev, brewer of Stella Artois, unveiled its original $46.3 billion, $65-a-share offer in June, a number the brewer of Budweiser dismissed as insultingly low.
InBev then sought to oust the American company's board and replace it with its own slate, while Anheuser-Busch accused InBev of misleading shareholders about its financial backing and blasted it for having operations in Cuba.
"When I look at other American companies that have done this [extended global reach] before, like McDonald's, Pepsi, Frito-Lays," Brito said, "I feel very excited about how we have the footprint, knowledge of the market and America in a bottle."
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD), through its Anheuser-Busch Inc. subsidiary, is the leading domestic brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales.
Anheuser-Busch's Fairfield brewery has a capacity of 4.4 million barrels per year. The brewery produces Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch, Busch Light and Natural Light, and serves Northern California, Alaska, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. It has approximately 475 employees, according to the company's Web site.
The 700,000-square-foot plant is the second-largest private employer in Fairfield after NorthBay Medical Center.
The InBev deal won't close until the end of the year, according to InBev spokeswoman Nina Devlin in New York City. InBev has no U.S. operations so there will be no operational overlap in the new company, she said.
I was a true Coors fan until they discontinued Artic ice. THAT sh1t was the bomb.
I'm worried about our country's loyalty to itself. Everyone seems to be pulling out in the labor market. Shoot. We have sooo many immigrants flocking this country it shouldn't be a problem keeping the work right here right?
I live in st. louis, so this is pretty much all i've heard about for the past month or so. amazingly enough, if you polled this city, you'd be hard pressed to find a single person who thought this sell out was good for the company or for the city. but does the voice of the people matter anymore? no. i'll tell you what matters... $$$
yeah i love bud and other A-B beers and it sucks its not even american anymore. it should be interesting to see what happens to sea world and busch gardens seeing as A-B owns them.
America companies have been selling out since the late 60's, for over 40 years now..
US selling AND MOVING all our commercial industries, factories, plants, etc TO foreign countries started in the late 1960's , when we began moving ( Sickles, Jerrod Electronics, Ren electronics, Uniroyal tires, etc) to Juarez and other locations in Mexico...that was all about cheap labor and taxes..and still is.
Now, its different, foreign companies are coming To the US and buying all our land, and companies...take a look at Myrtle Beach SC, and you will see that the Japanese purchased the entire city 20-25 years ago, including the old military installation..China, Korea and many other foreign companies have HUGE investments in the US..thats nothing new!
American Big Business has one interest only...themselves and their pockets!...they have no interests and concerns for America, US economy, or American people,..absolute NO loyalty to our country, or our own citizens...believe it not, what the hell do you think the Vietnam and Iraqi wars are all about...American Big Business interests!...
Surely any American of average intelligence is not buying into this "democracy" rhetoric that the politicians, lobbyists, and Big Business try and feed us, and want us to believe..
American Big Business and Wall Street are the biggest thieves in this country, and quickly creating a society of 2 classes, the rich and the poor..what Wall Street has done to the average US citizen, thru the inflation of OIL prices, should be viewed as a crime against society, and all the traders and Big Business execs should be imprisoned!
As we all know, the average American can barely put food on the table, or a roof over his head any longer, due to Big Business!