InBev Makes $46 Billion Bid for Anheuser-Busch

BRUSSELS -- In what would become the world's largest brewer, InBev has made a $46.3 billion bid to buy Anheuser-Busch, a move that would add Budweiser to its current lineup of Stella Artois and Beck's beers.

A-B told CSNews Online it had no comment, and in a released statement, the company said its board of directors would consider a response in due course.

"We respect the Anheuser-Busch board a lot," InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito said in a video statement posted on the company's Web site. "We admire them a lot and we think that the business rationale is very strong."

InBev is offering $65 per share for the St. Louis-based Anheuser, the maker of Bud Light and Michelob beers which dominate the U.S. beer market with a 48.5 percent share. While the specifics of the offer are still being discussed, Brito said the new company would retain top managers and board members from both sides, which supports a friendly merger.

"The whole heritage around the brand, St Louis ties, we intend to keep because that is important for the business and for the community and therefore for us," Brito added in a statement.
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