InBev puts its feelings in a letter

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Scott Jagow: Anheuser-Busch isn’t exactly going along with this bid from the Belgian company InBev. Instead, the king of beers has been talking to the Mexican company that makes Corona. InBev found out about this and they’re really upset. Stephen Beard has more from London.

Stephen Beard: In the letter, InBev tells Anheuser-Busch not to thwart the InBev bid by swallowing a poison pill. The American company has reportedly been talking about a full merger with its Mexican joint venture partner.

InBev’s letter says that Anheuser-Busch shareholders would be much better off with the InBev bid. It reminds the Busch board of its duty to its own shareholders, and talks of adverse consequences.

Roger Protz is editor of the Good Beer Guide:

Roger Protz: I find the InBev letter to Anheuser-Busch so threatening and bullying, it’s frightening. Is this the world of modern business? I mean really quite disturbing, the way in which they’re going about this.

If Anheuser-Busch did buy out its Mexican partner, it could become too expensive for InBev to buy. The Belgian/Brazilian company is already borrowing $40 billion to launch the largest cash takeover bid on record.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.