InBev completes Budweiser merger
Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, Missouri, maker of of “the king of beers” is now is a subsidiary of a company called Anheuser-Busch InBev NV/SA. InBev completed the purchase of Anheuser-Busch last week, paying shareholders $70 per share of stock. Many people believe that the price was too high given the economic crisis and that InBev should have negotiated a new deal.
The new company, named Anheuser-Busch InBev, is now the world’s largest brewer and one of the World’s Top Five Consumer Products Companies.
“Together, Anheuser-Busch and InBev will be able to accomplish much more than each can on its own,” said InBev’s Brazilian boss Carlos Brito, who will become chief executive of the new firm.
“This combination will create a stronger, more competitive global company with an unrivalled worldwide brand portfolio and distribution network, with great potential for growth all over the world.”
Brito is no stranger to overseeing giant mergers. He was part of the merging process of AmBev and Interbrew which created InBev, and he oversaw the acquisition of the three top Brazilian beer brands in Brazil. He knows uniting two huge companies can be very difficult in practical terms. But he said they’re off to a good start. “We’re also being clear from the day one that people need to respect and learn from each other and I think, despite the bumps, we’re going to be on track to deliver on the synergies that we expect integrating the two companies as quickly as possible.”
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