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Anheuser-Busch, InBev Work on Integration Strategy |
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Tuesday, 19 August 2008 |
Anheuser-Busch Cos. and InBev of Belgium continue to work out the details of how the giant brewers will mesh together once InBev completes its takeover. Top officials met last week and are planning to do so again in about two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has asked InBev for additional information relating to its plan to purchase St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch.
InBev said it "intends to respond expeditiously" to the request and to "work toward a prompt closing of the transaction." The Justice Department's request for additional information is a fairly routine step in the regulatory approval process for big acquisitions. Experts do not expect regulators to block the $52 billion takeover, as InBev has a small presence in the United States.
InBev said it is confident that the transaction will receive regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year. It also requires the approval of Anheuser-Busch and InBev shareholders.
Members of Anheuser-Busch's integration team met last week with InBev's steering committee to discuss how to combine the companies.
InBev's steering committee is comprised of InBev board members Marcel Telles and Peter Harf, InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito and an adviser, former Gillette CEO Jim Kilts, who oversaw the merger of Procter & Gamble and Gillette.
Even as top executives work to lay down an integration plan, the companies have to keep their distance until the deal is actually finalized.
"Please remember that, until closing, Anheuser-Busch and InBev remain competitors," Dave Peacock, vice president of marketing at Anheuser-Busch's U.S. beer subsidiary, said in an e-mail to employees. "We cannot make decisions or participate in making decisions that affect the other company's current business operations except as related to our existing U.S. import agreement or our ongoing international operations with InBev in Canada and South Korea. Interactions with InBev should occur only through the integration teams."
Copyright (c) 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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