Anheuser-Busch ready to sell to InBev for $52bn

LONDON - Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch has accepted a raised takeover bid of $52bn (£26bn) from InBev, creating the world's largest brewer and putting one of America's iconic brands in the hands of Belgium.

The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev and will be one of the world's five largest consumer product companies.

's headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, will become the headquarters for the North American region and the global home of the flagship Budweiser brand.

said that all of Anheuser-Busch's US breweries will remain open, although there are fears about job cuts.

Anheuser-Busch shareholders will receive $70 a share, up from the original bid of $65 a share made on June 11.

The Budweiser brewer rejected , arguing that it .

Carlos Brito, InBev CEO, will be chief executive of the combined company and the board of directors will be made up of the existing directors of the InBev board; Anheuser-Busch president and CEO August Busch IV; and one current or former director from the Anheuser-Busch board.

Budweiser, together with Stella Artois and Beck's, will become the combined company's leading global brands. InBev will also take control of Michelob, which Anheuser-Busch owns too as a 50% stake in Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which owns the Corona and Modelo brands.

The two companies already work together in the US where Anheuser-Busch distributes some of its rival's brands, including Beck's, Stella Artois and Bass.

Brito said: "Together Anheuser-Busch and InBev will be able to accomplish much more than each can on its own. We have been successful business partners for some time, and this is the natural next step for us in an increasingly competitive global environment."

Busch said: "We will leverage our collective strengths to create a truly diversified, global company to sustain long-term growth and profitability.

"In the United States and Canada both InBev and Anheuser-Busch have seen significant benefits from our existing relationship and we look forward to replicating this success in other parts of the world."

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