Brewery buyout a global wake-up call
Editorial Board
Issue date: 7/17/08 Section: Editorials
Slighted. Betrayed. Abandoned. Disoriented. Uncertain.
Ask any Cardinals-worshiping, Budweiser-drinking, die-hard St. Louisan how he or she feels about Anheuser-Busch's recent buyout by InBev, and that is what you're bound to hear.
One month ago, a proposed takeover of Anheuser-Busch by international mogul InBev, a conglomeration of Belgian and Brazilian brewers, went public.
InBev baited the hook for A-B's stockholders with $70 shares, and they bit. St. Louis' very own Fortune 500 company will now be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. Though its North American headquarters will remain in St. Louis, its international headquarters will transfer to Leuven, Belgium. A-B leaders will have only two seats on the merger's 14-member board of directors.
The $52 billion deal makes financial sense for those destined to cash in as the St. Louis brewing behemoth sells out. Pensioners with shares of A-B will find their bank accounts a bit cushier. The new conglomerate will be among the five largest consumer product producers in the world, according to an official press release.
But for the St. Louis community, it feels like betrayal.
Many St. Louisans watched the deal percolate in national news with disbelief. The Brewery on Pestalozzi Street, just south of downtown, is a relic of an earlier, golden age for this Rust Belt city. The Clydesdales, the croaking Budweiser frogs, the solid grandeur of the brewery itself-St. Louis natives have these images ingrained in the most formative niches of their minds.
As the suburbs burgeoned and the city grew frail during past decades, A-B was still strong; it linked St. Louis to a rich history of strength, pride, fame and influence. What's more, A-B gave back to the St. Louis community, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to local programs and charities.
A-B made St. Louis something unique. It poured its resources into St. Louis, and St. Louis responded with loyalty.
That is the frightening part about A-B's fall. Yes, the North American headquarters will remain here. Yes, most blue-collar brewery workers will keep their jobs. Yes, the 12 breweries that A-B manages in North America will remain open-at least for now.
Ask any Cardinals-worshiping, Budweiser-drinking, die-hard St. Louisan how he or she feels about Anheuser-Busch's recent buyout by InBev, and that is what you're bound to hear.
One month ago, a proposed takeover of Anheuser-Busch by international mogul InBev, a conglomeration of Belgian and Brazilian brewers, went public.
InBev baited the hook for A-B's stockholders with $70 shares, and they bit. St. Louis' very own Fortune 500 company will now be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. Though its North American headquarters will remain in St. Louis, its international headquarters will transfer to Leuven, Belgium. A-B leaders will have only two seats on the merger's 14-member board of directors.
The $52 billion deal makes financial sense for those destined to cash in as the St. Louis brewing behemoth sells out. Pensioners with shares of A-B will find their bank accounts a bit cushier. The new conglomerate will be among the five largest consumer product producers in the world, according to an official press release.
But for the St. Louis community, it feels like betrayal.
Many St. Louisans watched the deal percolate in national news with disbelief. The Brewery on Pestalozzi Street, just south of downtown, is a relic of an earlier, golden age for this Rust Belt city. The Clydesdales, the croaking Budweiser frogs, the solid grandeur of the brewery itself-St. Louis natives have these images ingrained in the most formative niches of their minds.
As the suburbs burgeoned and the city grew frail during past decades, A-B was still strong; it linked St. Louis to a rich history of strength, pride, fame and influence. What's more, A-B gave back to the St. Louis community, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to local programs and charities.
A-B made St. Louis something unique. It poured its resources into St. Louis, and St. Louis responded with loyalty.
That is the frightening part about A-B's fall. Yes, the North American headquarters will remain here. Yes, most blue-collar brewery workers will keep their jobs. Yes, the 12 breweries that A-B manages in North America will remain open-at least for now.
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