It actually happened. We told you all that money wasn’t getting thrown around for nothing. InBev has indeed made an unsolicited all-cash bid for Anheuser-Busch. While we often knock A-B, the fact is, the brewery is an American institution. It sure means a lot to folks in St. Louis (and beyond), and surely panic is spreading throughout A-B’s hometown in Missouri, in which they employee 6,000 people. From MSNBC.com:

The maker of Budweiser beer disclosed late Wednesday that InBev SA, whose brands include Beck’s and Stella Artois, delivered an unsolicited all-cash bid of $65 a share. It’s unclear whether senior Anheuser-Busch executives think the deal makes sense, but shareholders may be drawn to the offer that represents a sizable premium over the company’s closing price of $58.35 Wednesday. …

… Web sites have sprung up opposing the deal on patriotic grounds, arguing that such an iconic U.S. firm shouldn’t be handed over to foreign ownership. Republican Gov. Matt Blunt said Wednesday he opposes the deal, and directed the Missouri Department of Economic Development to see if there was a way to stop it.

“I am strongly opposed to the sale of Anheuser-Busch, and today’s offer to purchase the company is deeply troubling to me,” Blunt said in a statement.

InBev was formed in 2004 when Belgium’s Interbrew merged with South America’s biggest brewer, AmBev. Since then, the company has cut jobs in several European countries even as its sales were boosted by strong demand in Latin American countries.

Worries about job cuts at Anheuser-Busch could be justified. InBev has a reputation for squeezing costs out of the companies it acquires, said Benj Steinman, editor of the Beer Marketer’s Insights trade publication. Because of its size - and control of nearly half the U.S. beer market - Anheuser-Busch could be a ripe target for cost-cutting.

Forbes jumps in with this quick affirmation, though:

InBev said it would position Budweiser as the combined company’s flagship brand and the name of the merger company would “evoke Anheuser-Busch’s heritage.” InBev said it did not expect to close any U.S. breweries.

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