Tell Me About Beer Events
InBev wants to buy Anheuser-Busch. Please make the big, scary monsters go away.
Anheuser-Busch makes Budweiser and Bud Light. The company has an estimated 50.9 percent domestic market share.
Ken Crawford, an analyst with Argent Capital of suburban St. Louis, said the deal would make sense for Anheuser-Busch.
“We see a company that’s very, very profitable, generates a lot of cash,” Crawford said of Anheuser-Busch. “The question is: Where and how do they grow? It would not be unrealistic that they look abroad either for acquisitions or to partner with someone.”
It would be just the latest deal in a consolidating beer industry. Miller Brewing Co., the nation’s second-largest beer-maker, and No. 3 Molson Coors Brewing Co. are planning to combine U.S. operations in a deal expected to be completed by midsummer. Miller will distribute Grolsch in the U.S. after a February takeover by SABMiller of Europe.
Crawford said the impact on consumers remains to be seen.
