Bud says yes to Stella

The board of Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch has accepted a $52 billion takeover offer from Belgium-based InBev, in a deal that will create the world's largest beer maker. The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev.   ┬á Some US politicians had expressed anger at the prospect of a foreign takeover of the most popular beer in the United States, but InBev, best known for its Stella Artois brand, has said that Budweiser's headquarters will remain in St Louis, Missouri, and none of Anheuser's US breweries will be closed. ┬á┬á InBev is offering to pay $70 a share for Anheuser in a deal which both sets of shareholders must still approve. The combined business will have annual sales of $36.4 billion. ┬á┬á InBev itself was created by a giant merger in 2004 between Belgian brewer Interbev and the Brazilian Ambev.┬á┬á "Together, Anheuser-Busch and InBev will be able to accomplish much more than each can on its own," said InBev boss Carlos Brito, who will become chief executive of the new entity. "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."┬á┬á Anheuser president and CEO August Busch IV said the transaction would "enhance global market access for Budweiser, one of America's truly iconic brands". ┬á┬á The deal is likely to generate annual savings of $1.5 billion, but the companies say job losses will be kept to a minimum because there is little current overlap between the two businesses. ┬á┬á Anheuser currently controls nearly half of the US market, while InBev is strong in Western European and Latin America.┬á┬á The deal should give Budweiser a platform to boost its growth in Europe where, apart from a number of markets like the UK, it has been relatively weak. ┬á┬á Read the Anheuser-Busch press release here.  ┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *