Report: A-B board to meet this week; brewer declines comment
Anheuser-Busch Cos. has declined to comment today on a news report that the brewer’s board of directors will meet this week to dicuss the InBev takeover proposal.
British financial newspaper Financial Times reported that the board will discuss InBev’s $65 a share bid for all outstanding shares of Anheuser-Busch. The all-cash offer, estimated at $47.5 billion, is unsolicited and nonbinding.
Citing anonymous sources, the Financial Times said the board will weigh a variety of options for A-B. The newspaper said its sources say the board may press the Belgium-based brewer for a higher bid that its $65-a-share offer.
Today, A-B declined to comment on the report of a board meeting this week or the progress that that board has made on making a decision about the proposed bid.
“Anheuser-Busch’s inability to comment on it at this point should not be interpreted as support for, or opposition to the proposal. InBev and others have been discussing the proposal at length, but the Anheuser-Busch board must take the time necessary to conduct a full and fair analysis in consultation with its advisers before addressing the proposal publicly in detail,” A-B Chief Financial Officer W. Randolph Baker said in a press release. “We will not speculate on what the board’s response will be.”
Unless they have multiple tricks up their sleeve I don’t see how the board can reject this offer. If they do the law suits will pour in (one has already been filed and they have not even made a comment on it yet). I believe I am correct in saying the board can be personally liable in any law suit and their personal assets put at risk. Most have already hired personal counsel.
Of the news reports yesterday what concerned me most is what Missouri gov’t reps DID NOT SAY!
Hey Ken,
Does InBev let you have a company car?
No actually SABMiller supplies me the company car.
Having dealt with InBev in the United Kingdom when they reneged on every promise and closed the Boddington’s Brewery in Manchester the least of the employee’s problems will be the company car, they will not have jobs. Trust this company at your peril, our brewery had been open for hundreds of years and was a famous landmark in the city of Manchester, and the chief exec also drank it’s beer when they took over. None of this stopped them closing it when corporate greed took over.
I can guarantee that will be the case with this new acquisition as well Franny. They can make whatever promises they want and not have to keep any of them. What lawsuit are you talking about? Nothing has even happened yet to warrant a lawsuit. When Microsoft just tried to take over yahoo they offered a decent premium as well but they were able to fight them off and still not be held liable. I think they can do well on their own as hopefully do the directors and shareholders.
The lawsuit that was filed was against the Busch family and the Board of Directors. It was in regards to the Board of Directors not accepting the meeting offer that InBev requested when the offer was first established, thus the lawsuit states that the AB Board of Directors did not have the best interest of the shareholders in mind.