InBev raises bid, makes Anheuser-Busch an offer it can’t refuse
Posted by: in Marketing and AdvertisingFiled under: Deals, Products and services, Marketing and advertising, Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD)
InBev, the Belgian brewer, this day hiked its unsolicited bid for Anheuser-Busch Cos. (NYSE: BUD) by a whopping $5 a share, making it all but certain that the King of Beers will sell — unless members of the board of directors have spent too much time sampling their own product.
The $50 billion offer represents a substantial premium over where Anheuser-Busch has recently traded. InBev clearly wants to avoid the hostile takeover it’s threatened. It has vowed to keep its U.S. operations based in the company’s hometown of St. Louis. The average drinker of Budweiser probably will not notice a difference in the taste of their favorite brew, which may or might not be a good thing depending on one’s beer snobbery.
Shareholders, including Warren Buffett, are ready to head to the exits. The stock, which is up 17% this year, is trading up in pre-market trading. The company has little choice but to take the bid. No other logical buyers exist and I would be surprised if private equity players would be willing to top InBev’s offer.
About the only potential losers in this acquisition might be media companies.
Advertising salesmen are probably all holding their breaths wondering whether the new owners of Anheuser-Busch will turn off the money spigot that has made Budweiser one of the most iconic brands in the world. Imagine a weekend baseball game without a Bud commercial? You have to wonder whether InBev will be as enthused to spend huge bucks on the Super Bowl as well.
Politicians may lament that Anheuser-Busch is no longer U.S. owned. Then again neither is Miller. BloggingStocks writer Carol Vinzant did an exhaustive piece yesterday listing about two dozen American icons owned abroad.
I guess beer drinkers will have to stick to craft brewers if they want to support U.S. beer makers. That might be short-sighted though. Thanks to free trade, the world has become more global and there’s nothing we have the ability to do to change it.
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