Photograph depicts several Clysdesdales horses pulling a hitch of Budweiser products in St. Louis, Mo.
Another loved American icon leaves home. This time it’s Anheuser-Busch Inc., the proud maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beer. Anheuser-Busch reportedly has agreed to be acquired by Belgian brewer InBev for $52 billion. The deal being reported by The Wall Street Journal would create the world’s largest brewer and put the iconic American beer maker in the hands of the Belgian-based company behind Stella Artois and Beck’s beers. T T beers. This deal brings to an end one of the most iconic names in American business.
InBev said it plans to use St. Louis as its North American headquarters, and that it will keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch’s North American breweries.
Few products are associated with America as much as Budweiser. Its Clydesdale horses are fixtures of Super Bowl ads, and even the label is red, white and blue, with an eagle swooping through the “A.”
The merger will bring to an end a name synonymous with St. Louis. From college buildings, to theme parks, to offices, to the stadium where the Cardinals play baseball, the Busch name is virtually everywhere in the Gateway City.
Eberhard Anheuser acquired the Bavarian Brewery in 1860 and renamed it E. Anheuser & Co. His son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, joined the company in 1864 and it was eventually renamed Anheuser-Busch.
The company survived Prohibition or Dry Law by selling products ranging from ice cream to root beer.
Take a look at the new Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer that is being formed by the Belgian company’s $52 billion takeover of U.S.-based Anheuser:
- Combining the two companies will create the world’s third-largest consumer products company with a market capitalization of 71.6 billion euros, or about $114.2 billion. That’s behind only Procter & Gamble Co. and Nestle SA, InBev says.
- The new company will be the world’s largest brewery by far, producing an estimated 460 million hectoliters (12.2 billion U.S. gallons) of beer annually. Its expected annual revenue is of €26.6 billion, or about $42.4 billion, which would put it ahead of its closest competitor SABMiller.
- InBev’s strategy is to increase sales of Budweiser and Bud Light in overseas markets where the beers are currently niche products. InBev CEO Carlos Brito, who will head the new company, says Budweiser will become a global product along the lines of Coca-Cola or Pepsi. While Anheuser-Busch spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the company has focused mostly on its United States customers.
- Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao.
If this merger goes though, many Americans will be nostalgic for another beloved icon who headed to greener pastures mesmerized by the rules of globalization.
The selling of America. Abu Dahbi recently bought the New York sky scraper the Chrysler Building.
Hello Elaine:
It’s sad to see how the U.S. is losing global presence. The U.S. dollar is no longer the predominant currency it once was. Now everybody wants to be paid in euros.
I didn’t know the Chrysler Building also went into Arabic hands.
Between Japan, China and the Middle East, soon there will be nothing else to sell.
Thanks for dropping by,
Omar.-
[...] December 7, 2008 by Omar Upegui R. It’s sad to see how many famous American icons are falling in foreign hands. Recently the Chrysler Building in New York City and Anheuser-Busch Inc., the proud maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beer, was sold to foreign investors. [...]