Monkey311
06-18-2008, 09:24 PM
Budweiser, the great Belgian lager?
Giant brewer InBev wants to take over Anheuser-Busch, the company behind 'the Great American Lager,' picking a fight with the Busch family and a lot of U.S. beer drinkers.
By Michael Brush
Voulez-vous une Bud?
It simply doesn't sound right. And it probably never will.
That's just one of many reasons beverage sector experts -- and more than a few Bud drinkers -- are rolling their eyes at an audacious play by Belgian brewery giant InBev for Anheuser-Busch (BUD, news, msgs). The St. Louis company makes the iconic Budweiser brand that's as American as hot dogs, baseball and apple pie.
InBev chief Carlos Brito insists his proposed $46 billion takeover of Bud would bring bigger profits in part by helping his company sell Budweiser in French bistros, German beer gardens, Chinese nightclubs and similar spots around the globe. "We have operations in 130 countries ... and that would be a great platform to develop that brand," Brito says in a video interview you can find at his company's Web site.
And he got an important endorsement this week when the legendary Warren Buffett – whose Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, news, msgs) owns 5% of the company -- came out in support of the offer.
But analysts are wondering whether Brito might have downed one too many Stella Artois, the premium InBev brew that Brito says he prefers at home in Belgium. "Europeans have no interest in drinking watery American beer. Asians generally do not want our beer. It is completely different product," says Victory Capital Management beverage sector analyst David Kolpak. "Beer is not like soda. With a few exceptions like Corona and Heineken, beer does not cross borders very well."
If Europeans and Asians don't like Budweiser or Bud Light, so be it, say Bud aficionados who have a clear message for Brito: Don't ruin America's most popular beer by turning Anheuser-Busch into a Belgian company.
Giant brewer InBev wants to take over Anheuser-Busch, the company behind 'the Great American Lager,' picking a fight with the Busch family and a lot of U.S. beer drinkers.
By Michael Brush
Voulez-vous une Bud?
It simply doesn't sound right. And it probably never will.
That's just one of many reasons beverage sector experts -- and more than a few Bud drinkers -- are rolling their eyes at an audacious play by Belgian brewery giant InBev for Anheuser-Busch (BUD, news, msgs). The St. Louis company makes the iconic Budweiser brand that's as American as hot dogs, baseball and apple pie.
InBev chief Carlos Brito insists his proposed $46 billion takeover of Bud would bring bigger profits in part by helping his company sell Budweiser in French bistros, German beer gardens, Chinese nightclubs and similar spots around the globe. "We have operations in 130 countries ... and that would be a great platform to develop that brand," Brito says in a video interview you can find at his company's Web site.
And he got an important endorsement this week when the legendary Warren Buffett – whose Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, news, msgs) owns 5% of the company -- came out in support of the offer.
But analysts are wondering whether Brito might have downed one too many Stella Artois, the premium InBev brew that Brito says he prefers at home in Belgium. "Europeans have no interest in drinking watery American beer. Asians generally do not want our beer. It is completely different product," says Victory Capital Management beverage sector analyst David Kolpak. "Beer is not like soda. With a few exceptions like Corona and Heineken, beer does not cross borders very well."
If Europeans and Asians don't like Budweiser or Bud Light, so be it, say Bud aficionados who have a clear message for Brito: Don't ruin America's most popular beer by turning Anheuser-Busch into a Belgian company.