The Belgium-based brewer InBev who make Stella, Becks, Hoegaarden and Staropramen, have finally agreed a “historic” takeover of Anheuser-Busch, the US producer of Budweiser.
The proposal from InBev of $70 (£35.31) per Anheuser-Busch share must now be approved by shareholders. When the two firms become one, they will produce 460 million hectolitres of beer per year and generate annual sales of $36.4 billion (£18.4 billion).
As the drawn out merger plans finally comes to fruition, it has been agreed that all the American firm’s breweries will be kept open and that Budweiser will retain its headquarter location of St. Louis, Missouri, in order to appease politician’s and shareholder’s reservations relating to the potential threat to jobs and the US economy. The two firms maintain that projected savings of $1.5 billion (£760,000) will be made by the sharing of best practice and economies of scale, while job losses will be minimal.
InBev CEO, Carlos Brito, said: “We are extremely excited about the opportunities that this combination will create for consumers worldwide, as well as our shareholders, employees, business partners and wholesalers. Together, Anheuser-Busch and InBev will be able to accomplish much more than each can its own.”
August Busch IV, CEO of Anheuser-Busch added: “This agreement provides additional and certain value for Anheuser-Busch shareholders, while enhancing global market access for Budweiser, one of America’s truly iconic brands. We will leverage our collective strengths to create a truly diversified, global company to sustain long-term growth and profitability.”
InBev hope existing interests it has developed in other brewers, including Grupo Modello, who make Corona, and Tsingtao of China, will be made further profitable by the latest amalgamation of world beer brands.
