Budweiser in Belgium
Jun 17, 2008 The Eagle-Tribune - North Andover, Mass.
As if things weren't bleak enough for the U.S. economy, now comes word that Budweiser, the "king" of American beers, may soon belong to Belgium-based brewer InBev NV.
The proposed sale of Anheuser-Busch Cos. to InBev for $46.3 billion is opposed by the patriarch of the St. Louis-based brewing family, Augustus Busch IV. But Bloomberg.com reported Monday that Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the company's second-largest shareholder, planned to meet with Busch this week with the intention of pressing a sale on him. And InBev CEO Carlos Brito warned: "It is our strong belief that no alternative transaction ... would create more value for your shareholders."
Anheuser-Busch has a brewery in Merrimack, N.H., that has a capacity of nearly 3 million barrels of beer a year and draws 61,000 visitors annually to see the brewing process and the famous Clydesdale draft horses.
Many of our banks are now headquartered overseas, and we've long been dependent on foreign countries for the gasoline we put in our cars. And try comparing the number of products at the local Wal-Mart that are manufactured in the United States vs. those shipped here from the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
But it was always assumed this country still reigned supreme when it came to the manufacture of movie magic and beer. Why there's even a Major League Baseball team called the Brewers.
Yet in recent years, Hollywood has been in danger of being surpassed by India's "Bollywood" in terms of film production, and now this.
Truth is, InBev is already the world's largest brewer, with more than 200 brands, including Stella Artois and Bass. And as of the start of the week, the situation was looking increasingly bleak for the Busch family, which has been making its Budweiser and other brands for the past 132 years.
In fact the one ray of hope for the company, according to Bloomberg, was a possible merger with another brewer - this one based in Mexico.
