If Belgian brewer InBev SA makes a $40 billion-plus bid for the self-proclaimed King of Beers, Anheuser-Busch Cos., dealmakers at other companies in the sector may
start looking to consolidate. SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Co. might try merging, while Mexico-based Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB or Turkey's largest brewer may be takeover targets, Bloomberg reported. While Anheuser has the Nos. 1 and 2 beers in the U.S., Budweiser and Bud Light, analysts say the St. Louis brewer has
failed to expand aggressively in overseas markets.
Anheuser-Busch is the world's fourth-largest brewing company based on revenue, after SABMiller, InBev and Heineken International, which analysts are speculating may buy Turkey's Anadolu Efes Biracilik & Malt Sanayii AS. In January, Heineken teamed up with Carlsberg A/S to
buy British-owned Scottish & Newcastle plc for $15.4 billion.
Among possible beer deals, Bloomberg says SABMiller might be forced to expand on its agreement to combine its U.S. unit with that of Molson Coors. The
joint venture's dealmakers, chief integration officer Tim Wolf and CFO Gavin Hattersley, would have their work cut out for them. In April, the JV, a combination of Miller's and Coors' U.S. and Puerto Rican brewing operations, received EU approval. It's expected to close within a few weeks.
The Deal notes Anheuser's only option to
avoid a takeover offer would probably be to acquire the remaining 50% it doesn't own in Grupo Modelo SAB de CV, the maker of Corona and other beer brands. No word, though, on how U.S. microbrewers feel about their significantly larger counterparts pooling their resources. Food blog Grinder notes that megabrewers have been very interested in taking back the small amount of
market share the craft brewers have siphoned. -
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And the winners are...
The problems with the merger between Bud and Inbev fisrt-Is Inbev union or non union, second what happens to all the people that are not needed.Third When you get new owner ship how do you get people to work for better, when they have a good chance of losing their job. Forth How do you deal with people with one thing on there mind that is cutting jobs no matter what the cost is in human misery. Which they never had a taste of.