InBev threatens to get hostile

Stephen Beard Jul 2, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY

InBev threatens to get hostile

Stephen Beard Jul 2, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Renita Jablonski: Here is the latest installment of beer wars. InBev, the giant Belgian brewer, has stepped up the rhetoric in its bid for giant U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch. Stella’s parent is telling Bud watch out, or it’s going hostile. Stephen Beard has the latest.


Stephen Beard: InBev says it would prefer what it calls “a friendly combination.” But if the St.Louis-based brewer continues to reject the bid, then InBev will pursue every avenue to win control. That means a direct appeal to Anheuser-Busch’s shareholders.

Some of them are clearly receptive to InBev’s $46.3 billion offer. Two shareholders groups have now filed lawsuits against the A-B board. One of them, filed last Friday, accuses the board of unfairly rejecting the bid. It claims the board is failing in its duty to look after the interest of its shareholders.

InBev’s offer of $65 a share is 35 percent higher than the share price before the bid.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.