ANHEUSER-BUSCH Cos Inc says it has received a US$46.3-billion takeover bid from Belgium's InBev in a move to further consolidate the global beer industry.
InBev, whose brands include Stella Artois and Beck's, is offering US$65 per share for Anheuser, the leading United States brewer with 48.5 percent of the market. The offer price is an 11.4-percent premium based on the shares' Wednesday closing price of US$58.35 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Anheuser, which makes Budweiser and Michelob, said its board of directors "will evaluate the proposal carefully and in the context of all relevant factors, including Anheuser-Busch's long-term strategic plan," and make a determination regarding the proposal "in due course."
Wachovia analyst Jonathan Feeney said InBev's proposal was equal to 13 times annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the domestic and international beer business.
In addition to its core brands like Budweiser and Bud Light, the St Louis-based Anheuser owns 50 percent of Mexican brewer Modelo and 27 percent of China's Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd.
The company also operates nine theme parks and other properties, and owns firms that supply breweries with bottles and other packaging materials.
Feeney estimated that InBev, known for aggressive cost-cutting, could find about US$1.2 billion a year in savings.
"InBev would focus its efforts on streamlining the US beer giant, a possibility which might not sit well with Anheuser distributors," Feeney said in a research note.
"On top of the distributor piece, the highly regulated nature of the beer industry could pose other deal difficulties."
"We'd rather sit this one out altogether than forceour view, which is thatthe stock has fundamental value in the mid-US$50s and a deal still seems uncertain."
As of March 31, Anheuser had about 714 million shares outstanding. Its shares rose 6.9 percent to US$62.35 in after-hours trade. In the past year, the stock has traded in a range of US$58.56 to US$45.55, which it hit in March.