Monday, July 14, 2008

One more American icon sold over seas.



American brewer Anheuser-Busch has agreed to be bought by Belgium-based company InBev, in a £25bn deal.

But some US politicians have expressed anger at the prospect of a foreign takeover.

Anheuser makes Budweiser, which is seen as the traditional American beer.

InBev, which makes Stella and Beck's, agreed to pay $70 per share for the maker of Budweiser, up from its original unsolicited bid of $65 per share.

The deal, which is widely expected to be approved by regulators, would be the biggest in the industry and the third-largest ever foreign takeover of a US company.

Anheuser's home town of St. Louis, Missouri, will be the headquarters for the North American region and the global home of the flagship Budweiser brand.

The companies said all of Anheuser US breweries would remain open.

The combined firm will have about $36.4 billion in annual net sales and brew about a quarter of the world's beer.

The brewing industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation.

Scottish & Newcastle has agreed to be broken up by Carlsberg and Heineken, and SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing have agreed to merge their US operations.

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