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Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
articles.php?which=BeerIsBeerExceptWhenItIsnt
Beer Is Beer, Except When It Isn't.

If you're a beer drinker (and boy are we!) then you've probably heard that Belgian brewing company InBev was finally successful in its bid to purchase American brewer Anheuser-Busch, who makes Budweiser and Bud Light. InBev paid a whopping $52 billion for the company in what has gone on record as the biggest cash takeover in history.

While the deal is particularly sweet for InBev—who will become one of the world's largest brewing companies as a result—it's not bad for Anheuser-Busch either. According to Bloomberg: "At $70 a share, InBev is paying about 11 times Anheuser's 2009 projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, based on analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg."

Beyond that, InBev has agreed to rename itself Anheuser-Busch InBev, and says they won't change Budweiser or Bud Light:

"Budweiser will be brewed in the same breweries ... by the same people, according to the same recipe," says InBev CEO Carlos Brito.

So why are some people already complaining? After the news dropped that the deal was going down, CNN ran a story describing the outrage some Americans say they felt when they heard the news:

"I was actually drinking a Bud Light when I heard, and I couldn't even finish it. That's the honest-to-God truth," says St. Louis resident Philip McClary. And a University of Mississippi student was quoted in the article as saying: "I was proud to drink Budweiser, not any more."

But what about you? For this week's survey question we'd like to know how you feel about the Anheuser-Busch/InBev deal and whether you think its a dark, dark day for you and your Bud Light, or whether it matters...Bud Light is Bud Light, right?

BudLight

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It will be interesting to see how Budweiser's aggressive marketing gels with efficiency-minded European tradition. Judging by the "Real Men of Genius: Leo Baekeland, creator of polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, the first thermosetting plastic" ad now playing on EU radio stations, there's something of a cultural barrier to be overcome.
benpirie
12:59, July 15th, 2008



Since they've decided not to change the recipes, leaving the beer gross and undrinkable, then I'm pretty apathetic.

I wonder what this means for other nasty beer companies, like PBR and Lone Star, that are still American-owned?
richard
12:08, July 15th, 2008



"I was actually drinking a bud light when I heard the news, and then I realized, wow this tastes terrible - hopefully the germans do a better job fixing this than they did with Chrysler." - Matt H.
matteo
19:48, July 14th, 2008



I wonder if they made the offer before the tremendous success of Bud Lime with "real lime flavoring."
bryanh
19:45, July 14th, 2008