Mitchell Jaworski - AHN Reporter
St. Louis, MO (AHN) - Anheuser-Busch announced Wednesday it received majority vote from shareholders approving its merger with foreign rival InBev. The deal will create the world's largest beer company.
InBev is paying $52 billion for Anheuser. The deal works out to roughly $70 a share. Anheuser shareholders will receive a cash payment in that amount for each share they own.
Approval from Anheuser shareholders was the last major hurdle the deal faced. InBev shareholders had approved the deal back in September. The companies expect the deal to close by the end of the year.
Anheuser originally resisted the unsolicited offer from InBev, but ultimately realized with a weakening consumer environment, the deal was too good to pass up.
"Every alternative was considered," said President and CEO August A. Busch IV, according to the Associated Press. "In the end, we all agreed the InBev proposal was in the best interest of you, the shareholders."
August A. Busch is set to serve on the board of directors for the combined company. However, he will no longer hold an executive role.
The deal gives Anheuser's Budweiser brand the opportunity to become a global market leader, a feat the company had not been able to accomplish on its own.
Although the deal received majority approval, many shareholders at the meeting were distraught such a great American company would become controlled by a foreign corporation.
Article © AHN - All Rights Reserved
|
