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FAIRFIELD — Workers at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield face a hard choice, neither of which is likely to go down as smoothly as fresh, cold beer: retire early or get laid off. Jim Brickey, vice president for people at the company's St. Louis, Mo., headquarters, confirmed that managers are talking with Teamster union leaders about "voluntary enhanced severance" packages. "Our employees have expressed interest in this, and we are exploring this option with the union," Brickey said in an e-mail, noting that similar talks are taking place at the company's 11 other breweries across the United States. If too...

Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV has sued an Illinois state regulator for blocking its attempt to buy an alcoholic beverage distributor, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit by the world's largest brewer followed Wednesday's ruling by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission that Anheuser was a "nonresident dealer," making it ineligible under state law to also operate as a distributor. Anheuser had sought through its Wholesaler Equity Development Corp affiliate to buy the 70 percent of City Beverage it did not already own, for what it called a "substantial amount of money." The seller is Soave Enterprises, a privately held,...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Anheuser-Busch InBev said Wednesday that it will sell its entertainment business, including theme parks like Sea World and Busch Gardens, to the Blackstone Group for as much as $2.7 billion.The final purchase price will involve a cash payment of $2.3 billion on closing and the right to participate in Blackstone's returns that is capped at $400 million.

Politicians and Wall Streeters are starting to ask why the Belgian beer company InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch and not the other way around. Anheuser-Busch is an iconic American firm and some find it almost unpatriotic that Anheuser CEO August Busch IV allowed the "King of Beers" to relocate across the Atlantic -- though shareholders were the big winners here with a $50 billion-plus takeaway. But here's the real question: Was the takeover basically financed by the savings Anheuser expected from escaping America's increasingly uncompetitive corporate tax system? According to the Tax Foundation, Belgium's corporate tax rate is 33%, but the effective...

There is a crisis that no one is talking about. It’s not the energy dependence crisis, the spending crisis in our federal government, the imaginary-though-fragile economic crisis nor the mainstream media’s it’s-not-a-crisis-but-we-are-going-to-make-it-look-like-one banking crisis. America is being sold off to foreigners at a discount. That’s a crisis. The latest incident of this dismantling of America was the hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch (AB) by the Belgium beer company InBev. Most corporate merger observers saw this as just another premium payday for the stockholders of AB. But my memory of what used to be The Pillsbury Company caused me to see this...

(Pabst touts ascent to No. 1 American-owned beer maker) Pabst Brewing Co. doesn’t operate breweries anymore, but it wants to be the first choice for every red-blooded American beer drinker. The company, which owns dozens of beer brands and contracts with MillerCoors LLC to create most of its brews, is staking its claim as the largest remaining American-owned beer maker. Just days after industry giant Anheuser-Busch Cos. announced its sale to InBev, a European brewer, Pabst is conducting an online survey, asking customers about it. “Did you know that after this sale is completed, Pabst Brewing Company will be the...

"It would be a shame if Bud is foreign-owned," Barack Obama said last week, when asked about the prospect of InBev taking over Anheuser-Busch. Many Americans no doubt share these sentiments.Believers in free markets naturally disagree, and they are probably joined by legions of beer connoisseurs. They are also joined by a motley group of World War I aficionados. InBev is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, home of one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious universities. On Aug. 25 and 26, 1914, the town was sacked by German troops. ("The Oxford of Belgium" was then better known by its French name,...

S IN an old-fashioned Western bar brawl, Anheuser-Busch tried to hit InBev with anything that came to hand. The American brewer was attempting to rebuff an assault by its Belgian-Brazilian rival, which had offered $46 billion in an unsolicited bid on June 11th. Anheuser-Busch tried to use the business equivalent of a bar stool over the head—a lawsuit claiming that InBev had misled investors. The American firm even dealt the low blow of citing InBev’s Cuban businesses as a reason to reject the bid. These tactics came to nothing, however, after InBev opened its wallet and upped the offer to...

Anheuser-Busch's board has accepted a $52 million takeover offer from Belgian brewer InBev, creating the world's largest brewer, the two companies announced late Sunday evening. The company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, and InBev CEO Carlos Brito will be the CEO of the combined company. "Together, Anheuser-Busch and InBev will accomplish much more than each can on its own," Brito told reporters in a conference call Monday morning. The announcement ends a month of hostility between the brewer of Budweiser and InBev, which traded lawsuits when InBev tried to oust A-B's board. "We always tried to engage with the Anheuser-Busch...

The US brewer Anheuser-Busch has agreed to be taken over by Belgium-based InBev, in a move that will create the world's largest beer maker. The $50bn (£25bn) takeover bid by InBev, which makes Stella Artois beer, was accepted by Anheuser's board. The combined company will now be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser makes Budweiser - the most popular beer in the US - and some US politicians had expressed anger at the prospect of a foreign takeover. 'Unrivalled brands' In a concession to political concerns about the deal, Budweiser's headquarters will remain in St Louis, Missouri while none of Anheuser's US...

BREAKING NEWS: Anheuser-Busch and InBev have completed a deal at $70 per share, which will create a new company to be named Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser will get two seats on the combined board.

Anheuser-Busch's (BUD) stock closed up over $5 at $66.50 on Friday and is trading at $67.00 after-hours. This price suggests the market is nearly certain that InBev will buy BUD at the rumored $70/share, and it may even incorporate the expectation of an additional price increase: given the political scrutiny this deal will receive, a 5% gap between the trading price and deal price is small. In other news, InBev's potential purchase of BUD is reverberating through St. Louis and the country...and folks aren't happy about it: Jordan Moore took the news that his beloved Budweiser could soon fall into...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. will stop making and selling caffeinated alcoholic drinks as part of a settlement with 11 state attorneys general, the attorneys general said Thursday. The states' top lawyers began an investigation of the U.S.'s largest brewer by sales a year ago. They alleged that the St. Louis company had failed to adequately disclose negative health effects of its Tilt and Bud Extra drinks on their labels, made false or misleading marketing claims that they help users stay up late for partying, and illegally targeted minors with its advertising. "Quite simply, alcohol mixed with high amounts of caffeine is a...

Union leaders representing InBev workers in Brazil, Canada and Europe have a simple message for Anheuser-Busch employees if InBev takes control of the St. Louis-based brewery: Watch out. "They should worry, because the production is going to be concentrated and the work force reduced," says Siderlei Oliveira, president of Brazil's 1.2 million-member food workers union, citing a reduction in Brazil's brewery workers to 13,000 from 23,000 since the 1990s. "This is the strategy that they have." In Canada, labor-management relations are "starting to thaw after a significant period of turmoil" marked by years of strikes, lockouts, changes in work rules,...

Warren Buffet, the investor known as the sage of Omaha, is this week expected to privately step into the $46bn hostile bid by Belgian brewer Inbev for Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser beer. Buffett, who owns 5 per cent of Anheuser through his group Berkshire Hathaway, is planning to speak to August Busch IV, the Anheuser chief executive, within the next few days to discuss the hostile bid, according to sources close to the deal. Buffett wants to remain neutral in the early days of the controversial offer, but it is understood Busch wants to know his opinion of the...

A foreign bid for the beloved Bud had “Good Morning America” fearmongering about international trade June 12. For analysis of what an Anheuser-Busch buyout could mean, the ABC crew didn’t turn to a businessman or even to a government regulator. They invited CNN’s Lou Dobbs, who regularly rails against trade and foreigners in general. “[It] raises the question – is America for sale?” asked ABC’s Chris Cuomo, who called the brewer “iconic” and worried that “some of the nation’s most beloved brews would move out of American hands.” But Anheuser-Busch’s business isn’t confined to the United States now. According to...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. has begun preliminary talks with Mexico's Grupo Modelo SA about a possible combination of the two brewers that could help the St. Louis beer giant thwart an unsolicited, $46.35 billion bid from InBev NV of Belgium, said people familiar with the matter. Anheuser-Busch approached Carlos Fernandez, the Modelo chief executive who is also an Anheuser director, about a deal in recent weeks, after news surfaced that InBev was weighing a bid for Anheuser, these people said. It isn't clear what kind of transaction Anheuser and Modelo have discussed, or that anything will come of the talks. Anheuser, which...

Belgian Brewer InBev is offering a big payday to shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., but its bid to create the world's largest beer company is already facing a major obstacle — U.S. election-year politics. InBev SA, whose brands include Beck's and Stella Artois, delivered an unsolicited all-cash bid of $65 a share for Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Light. That's well above the St. Louis-based company's closing share price of $58.35 Wednesday. But politicians and activists are already lining up against the deal, saying it could cost jobs in the United States and send ownership of an iconic...

Excerpt - Anheuser-Busch Inc. confirmed it has received an unsolicited $65 per share offer from Belgian brewer InBev to buy the iconic American brewer. With more than 713 million shares outstanding, the bid is valued at more than $46.3 billion. Anheuser-Busch's board of directors will evaluate the proposal and make its decision to InBev's proposal in due course. The brewer of Budweiser and Bud Light said that its board of directors will act in the best interests of the company's stockholders. Anheuser-Busch is the dominant domestic competitor of Miller Brewing Co., of Milwaukee. ~ snip ~

As the summer beer-drinking season gets ready to kick into gear, reports are swirling that Anheuser-Busch could be the target of a buyout attempt by Belgian-based (but Brazilian-run) InBev in a deal that could put the sole remaining big-cap American brewer into foreign hands. Stagnant domestic growth has kept shares of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc, the largest U.S. brewer by volume -- and No. 3 globally, behind conglomerates SABMiller and InBev -- in the doldrums for several years. Content with a dominant stateside market share of nearly 50%, the St. Louis-based company was slow to innovate, catching on late to a...

Inbev, the maker of Becks and Stella Artois, has drawn up plans for an audacious $46bn (£23bn) take-over offer for US rival and Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch. Acquiring Anheuser-Busch would give Inbev a number one position in the US beer market If the brewer proceeds with its plans, the long-awaited deal would create a near-$100bn company to overshadow the global brewing market's number two player SABMiller, worth closer to £37bn. Anheuser shares rose 3.59 to $56.17 after the FT Alphaville website revealed that Inbev had appointed investment bank Lazard to map out a $65-a-share offer. Inbev shares fell €1.44 to €48.88...

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 – For the rest of this year, sitting in Shamu the killer whale’s “splash zone” or talking turkey with a big yellow bird are just two activities servicemembers and their families can enjoy for free at Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks. Through its “Here’s to the Heroes” program, which began in 2005, the brewing company is offering free tickets to its theme parks for servicemembers and up to three family members to thank them for all they do in service to the country. “It’s important to us for all the reasons you can probably predict,” said Fred...

The Clintons have long kept hidden the identities of the donors to their foundation, and now we know why. The New York Times finally got a look at the books, and they discovered millions of dollars coming from people with a lot to lose during the Clinton administration. Shockingly, the pace of donations has accelerated as Hillary comes closer to winning the Democratic presidential nomination: But an examination of the foundation demonstrates how its fund-raising has at times fostered the potential for conflict.The New York Times has compiled the first comprehensive list of 97 donors who gave or pledged a...

Falls Church, Virginia- Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), today announced that the group has filed a shareholder proposal for consideration by Anheuser-Busch shareholders. The proposal asks the company to disclose its charitable contributions, and provide a rationale for each, especially for “controversial” grantees, such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). The supporting statement notes that the company has been MALDEF’s largest corporate supporter in recent years, and states: “MALDEF favors the issuance of driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, and sued the state of Virginia to allow illegal immigrants to attend...

The makers of Coors and Miller plan to combine their U.S. brewing operations in an effort to compete better against industry-leader Anheuser-Busch. ADVERTISEMENT The joint venture announced Tuesday will be known as MillerCoors and will have responsibility for selling brands like Miller Lite and Coors Light in the U.S. Anheuser-Busch Cos. accounts for about half of the U.S. market with brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light. SABMiller PLC will have a 58 percent economic interest in the venture and MolsonCoors Brewing Co. will own 42 percent of the new company. They will have equal voting interests, however. Precise financial...

Wednesday, June 21, 2006 STORIES • Anheuser-Busch Purchases Rolling Rock Beer for $82M • A New Twist for the Moonshiner: Ethanol • Beer Companies Look to Expand Premium Brew Reach • King of Beers Goes It Alone in Toast to Brew • Maker of Miller Beers Sees Sales Uptick • California Wine Sales Hit Record...Again • Micro-Back? Craft Brew Sales Picking Up • Anheuser-Busch to Distribute Grolsch NEW YORK — Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (BUD), the largest U.S. brewer, may consider expanding beyond beer in the liquor industry if sales of wine and spirits continue to take market share, The Wall...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- One might think that other big U.S. brewers would be happy with Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., which is spending millions on a national ad campaign to promote beer drinking over wine or cocktails. But last Friday, Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. sent its regards to Anheuser-Busch by hiring a pilot to buzz its headquarters while toting a banner - and the message was, no thanks. Miller took the opportunity to call the King of Beers a liar for statements it recently made about its beer recipe. The banner read, "Sire Sire Pants On Fire!"So much for happy hour...

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- SAB Miller is wasting little time in trumpeting rival Anheuser-Busch's admission in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that it has changed the recipe of Budweiser and Bud Light.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials hitting a 6-year high, buoyed by stronger-than-expected earnings from companies such as top brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. and a key broker's dropping its "sell" rating on General Motors Corp. The latest string of results in a stronger-than-forecast earnings season overshadowed investors' worries about rising interest rates after orders in March for durable goods such as airplanes and refrigerators surpassed expectations. Anheuser-Busch reported stronger-than-expected earnings, sending its shares up 5.3 percent, or $2.27, to $44.90 on the New York Stock Exchange. For details see: . Top U.S. brokerage Merrill...

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2006 – A national company's program offering free amusement park tickets to the nation's troops and their families has become so popular it will be extended another year. America Supports You corporate member Anheuser-Busch is offering free admission to its amusement parks for troops and their families. Pictured here, soldiers ride "SheiKra," a roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Fla., during summer 2005. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Anheuser-Busch began the program, called "Here's to the Heroes," in February 2005. The company had planned to end it early this year, said...

Poland and Hungary are quarrelling over the definition of vodka. For the Poles vodka is “an alcoholic beverage derived from cereals or potatoes.” Historically vodka is a colourless liquor made from grain. Traditionally it was made in Russia, the Ukraine, Poland and Scandinavia. However, the fact that potato vodka is also considered to be vodka, though potatoes were only introduced in these regions in the 18th century, indicates, according to some, that vodka can also be distilled from other products than grain or potatoes

Samuel Adams, anyone?

THE COMMERCIAL This morning I spoke with a representative of Anheuser Busch about their Superbowl commercial. First, here is some background. In a club in San Bernardino with a couple hundred Marines, wives, and friends, I watched the Superbowl. I fought back a tear at the bar as I watched the commercial that honored the troops. The Marines in that club felt proud. They appreciate knowing that we appreciate what they do for us. Hell, just buying them beer to show appreciation made them feel good. In the 1981 Champsionship Game (not Superbowl), Joe Montana engineered an 89-yard drive...

By Carl F. Horowitz Fred Smith, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, knows the instincts of anti-business activists as well as anyone. And his advice to corporate leaders who contemplate buying off their tormentors is this: Don't. Political bribery won't work, except maybe in the short run.

Why is a major beer company bankrolling opposition to Samuel Alito on behalf of Mexican-American separatism? Fred Smith, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, knows the instincts of anti-business activists as well as anyone. And his advice to corporate leaders who contemplate buying off their tormentors is this: Don't. Political bribery won't work, except maybe in the short run. "A lot of companies think that by admitting their failures to accusers, they can buy peace," he said at a conference last November co-organized by his group, the National Legal and Policy Center and the Free Enterprise Education Institute. "Many corporations...

Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), today criticized Anheuser-Busch for its financial support of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), in the wake of “hysterical” attacks by MALDEF on Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito. According to the 2003-2004 MALDEF Annual Report, Anheuser-Busch is MALDEF’s largest corporate donor. NLPC President Peter Flaherty today stated, “MALDEF is conducting a hysterical and racially-charged campaign against Judge Alito.” Just days after Alito was nominated, MALDEF President and General Counsel Ann Marie Tallman accused Alito of “a disturbing pattern of insensitivity towards Latinos’ lives” and claimed Alito...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2006 – A tribute program that provided free admission to Anheuser-Busch theme parks to more than 900,000 members of U.S. and coalition armed forces and their families has been extended through 2006, company officials announced. Anheuser-Busch launched "Here's to the Heroes" in February 2005 to acknowledge the service of military men and women and the sacrifices made by their families, officials said. "It is gratifying to all of us at Anheuser-Busch that so many members of our armed forces took advantage of this program and honored us with a visit," said Keith M. Kasen, chairman and president...

Hoping to "drive home" responsible drinking messages this holiday season, Anheuser-Busch today released the results of its annual designated driver poll and declared Dec. 11-17 National Designated Driver Awareness Week. The survey found that most Americans -- 41 percent -- would prefer to be driven home in a Hummer by their designated drivers of choice Katie Couric and George Clooney. In addition, survey respondents chose a sleigh ride by the Budweiser Clydesdale Hitch as their favorite mode of transportation. "It's important for us to reinforce responsible behavior and encourage those who drink to use a designated driver, especially during the...

Anheuser-Busch is honored to salute the men and women of our armed forces and their families. Throughout 2005, members of the military and as many as three direct dependents may enter any one of Anheuser-Busch's SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks with a single-day complimentary admission. For your service and sacrifice, we thank you.   Click To Download Video

Shift From TV Is Response To Change in Viewership; Restaurant Push Is on Tap By SARAH ELLISON Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL November 30, 2005; Page B3 Anheuser-Busch, the brewing giant long associated with glitzy network-TV ads, plans to shift some ad dollars away from network prime time toward cable TV and the Internet to "recognize changes in viewership." The brewer of Budweiser and Bud Light is the latest big marketer to shift away from network TV, and is somewhat of a laggard in making the move. Over the past few years, many advertisers -- including big marketers...

MILWAUKEE - The latest fight in the U.S. beer battle is a matter of taste. Miller Brewing Co. says rival Anheuser-Busch has altered Bud Light in the past year to make it more bitter and bubbly, rolling out the claim about Bud Light in national television ads that began airing Friday. The company said data it has collected show Bud Light's bitterness and carbonation rose from last year. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. called Miller's claims "another marketing ploy" and complained to cable networks that the statements are false. Now, 10 of 32 cable networks contracted to run the commercials have put...

Anheuser-Busch lost an appeals court case Tuesday against workers who were fired after the brewer discovered by using hidden cameras they were using illegal drugs at the workplace, according to published reports. Five workers lost their jobs as a result of being caught on tape smoking marijuana in a break area. As a result of the ruling, the brewer could be required to reemploy the workers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the company should have informed the union, Brewers and Maltsters, Local Union No. 6, before installing cameras. The case now returns...

Bud Light Accused of Trivializing Alcoholism in New Ad Watchdog Groups Say Beer Ad Depicts Lying About Drinking WASHINGTON—-A new ad for Bud Light beer depicts men joking about lies they've told to cover up their daytime drinking, and two watchdog groups say the Federal Trade Commission should crack down and ask Anheuser-Busch to pull the ad. In a letter to FTC enforcement official Janet Evans, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) say the ad irresponsibly makes light of alcoholic behavior. The ad in question features a...

Anheuser-Busch Offers Free Admission to Its Adventure Parks Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc announced its "Heroes Salute" to honor the U.S. Armed Services by offering free single-day admission to its SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks to active duty military, active reservists, U.S. Coast Guard, National Guardsmen and as many as three direct dependents beginning Feb. 7 through Dec. 31, 2005. Any active duty, active reserve, ready reserve service member or National Guard is entitled to free admission under the program. He or she need only register, either online at www.herosalute.com or in the entrance plaza of participating parks, and show a Department...

WASHINGTON Anheuser-Busch says it won't buy rice from Missouri if the state allows genetically modified, drug-making crops to be grown. The St. Louis-based beer giant -- the nation's number-one buyer of rice -- says it's concerned about possible contamination. Other companies have also expressed concern about Ventria Biosciences' plans to grow 200 acres of rice engineered to produce human proteins that can make drugs. The idea is to lower drug-making costs by using plants to grow medications. Biotechnology firms are seeking federal approval for outdoor plantings. But other food companies, environmentalists and farmers fear cross-pollination could leak foreign genes into...

SHANGHAI - The news that beer production in China rose by 15.2% to 29.1 million metric tons in 2004 was definitely cause for great cheer in the board rooms of the world's largest brewers. Since China became the largest beer producer by volume in 2002, all of the top global beer makers have been rushing back into the brutally competitive Chinese market, despite the lingering sour taste left by the disastrous experiences of the 1990s. Between 1993 and 1996, multinational brewing companies poured more than a billion US dollars into buying small Chinese breweries to produce their brands or establishing...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2005 -- Dan Hartman's "Free Ride" could be the theme song to the Anheuser-Busch Company's latest offer to the military. This month, the brewery announced that once again it will open the gates to its SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place theme parks for free as a way of saying thanks to servicemembers and their families. The company's latest promotion, dubbed "Here's to the Heroes," offers a free single-day admission to servicemembers, including Guardsmen and Reservists, and as many as three "direct dependents," according to Fred Jacobs, senior director for communications at Busch Entertainment Corp. The offer...

<p>On the program that day we were discussing the report that some Europeans were disgusted with the Super Bowl commercial of American soldiers getting applause in an airport. The critics thought it too extreme in its patriotism and a possible incitement to further war.</p>

This morning I spoke with a representative of Anheuser Busch about their Superbowl commercial. First, here is some background. In a club in San Bernardino with a couple hundred Marines, wives, and friends, I watched the Superbowl. I fought back a tear at the bar as I watched the commercial that honored the troops. The Marines in that club felt proud. They appreciate knowing that we appreciate what they do for us. Hell, just buying them beer to show appreciation made them feel good. In the 1981 Champsionship Game (not Superbowl), Joe Montana engineered an 89-yard drive at the end...

http://www.herosalute.com/states/big_game_ad_WMhi.html