InBev takeover of Anheuser-Busch creates world‘s largest beer maker

Belgium-based InBev is to takeover US brewer Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion (£26 billion) in a deal which will form the world’s largest beer maker.

The newly-formed company will now be known as Anheuser-Busch InBev.

InBev is offering to pay $70 a share for Anheuser in a deal which must be approved by shareholders of both companies.

The transaction is set to become the largest cash takeover ever seen, only second to Procter & Gamble’s purchase of Gillette Co. for $57 billion in 2005.

Anheuser-Busch makes Budweiser, which is the most popular beer in the US, while InBev makes Stella Artois beer.

Budweiser’s headquarters will remain in St Louis, Missouri, after several US politicians expressed anger at the prospect of a foreign takeover. None of Anheuser’s US breweries will be closed.

The deal will bring other popular brands including Beck’s, Hoegaarden and Staropramen, as well as Budweiser and Stella, under one roof.

Commenting on the deal, August Busch of Anheuser, said the newly-created business will strengthen Budweiser in Europe.

However, concerns that the transaction will lead to significant redundancies in the US Midwest comes at a time that the risk of recession is looming. The two companies have said job losses will be kept to a minimum.

Anheuser currently controls almost half of the US market, while InBev has a strong presence in Western European and the Latin American markets.

Anheuser also owns stakes in Mexican brewer, Grupo Modelo, and Chinese brewer, Tsingtao.

Due to cost pressures and a slump in sales, the beer market has been consolidating. The UK’s biggest brewer, Scottish & Newcastle, was taken over by Heineken and Carlsberg earlier this year.

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