Rick Martin,

Sure. Drink a beer in St. Louis that was so anti-union for so long. Makes sense to me.

David “the Shareholder”

You must be a moron, you don’t want $70 a share but would rather have a $46 dollar stock doing sheet is thst what your saying? You must be a lunch bucket employee cause what you said makes zero sense. Your vote will not mean sheet trust me, I am voting in favor and so are the many gazzilionaires out there who will to. You obvioulsy must love living hand to mouth. Dumbest thing I have heard all night. I’m sure you really are a shareholder.

Fuxks–Have you been to Detroit? Have you been to St. Louis? There’s not even a comparison. Look at economic statistics such as unemployment, foreclosures, change in home price, education of the population (% with college degrees, etc.)–there’s no comparison.

Losing one company does not change that fact. Also, how do you think the taxes go down significantly? They’ll still own all of the land and be responsible for the property taxes. The only lost revenue will be the 1% income tax lost. Unless you believe our city will never create jobs again after doing so for the last two hundred years, that is just a temporary loss of taxes.

City Hall can do a better job, and they should do so. But they aren’t destroying the city like you seem to think. They only oversee so much of what goes on here–look at all of the companies in places like Clayton, Earth City, or O’Fallon.

As a supporter of AB over the years, I can say I enjoyed, & will continue to enjoy their products and savy marketing. The products & marketing will be the same. As for the manufacturing & managment side of the company, I am not sure what to think.

But…for all those saddened by this buyout & “renting” of America, there are some things you need to realize about America & where our ancestors came from. America was settled by people wanting freedom, and our country participates in the global economy, just like most of the rest of the world, which allows everyone from indiviuals to companies to choose what, where, and who to buy things from. That’s the way of business these days, & there is no looking back.

If America wants to rid themselves of the opposition across seas, they need to start supporting themselves more often, spending less on high-end clothing manufactured in foreign countries, accpeting the fact goods in the USA cost more because of our labor standards for our employees, & spend less on crazy iconic items that do nothing more than grow Hannah Montana, or any other celebrity bank account larger than belief.

It’s a sad in St.Louis. Not only have we lost an AMERICAN icon but I’m disgusted by the corporate greed that runs rampant in this day and age. I don’t even like Bud Light but I hate to see the loss of middle class jobs that will be affected by this takeover not to mention the revenues and profits that will ultimately now end up outside of the United States.

InBev is not known for it’s charity. They will not do great things for our community other than shink the job market and lower morale. They will not save our schools, donate to local charities, or generally make nice with the community. Check their track record. My sympathies to the employees of AB (that don’t get laid off) who will have to work for such a bastard of company.

Time to start drinking Schlaffly!

To me, its a feeling of betryal. There was always a unique relationship of loyalty between AB and St. Louis. My friends from out of town were always surprised at how much of a company town this is and how loyal everyone (including non-drinkers) were to the brewery. And AB was extremely generous to St. Louis. For the brewery to be sold to dreaded outsiders feels like I lost a friend. I know its silly and irrational, but that’s that way it feels. And it seems as if I’m not alone. Down deep, I know that business is business, but it never felt that way with AB before now.

I fell in love with St. Louis when I was six, and back then it was ugly even (very industrial looking to a kid)! But I still loved visiting every year with my family, my dad would take us to all the hotspots (not just the amusement parks) and you really had to get deep into the city to really get to know it. I told my mother when I was six while jumping on the couch at home after a trip to STL “when I grow up I am moving to St. Louis, MO and I will live in the arch!” Well that was almost 25 years ago…and while I do not live in the arch I DO live here in good old St. Louis! I hate what is happening to STL right now, but you have to be open to the fact that it is happening EVERYWHERE in the US. I did not fall in love with AB when I was six, I fell in love with the people and pride of STL. Yeah dammit we still have the Cards, Ted Drewes and other famous STL companies, just because the big fish was caught does not mean the city is stagnant. I love the people here, I love the pride we have in STL - don’t give up on this city! I have dealt with INBEV before while working for an importer, the horror stories we hear - well about half of them are true…but it will not kill the city! In a few years things that might be bumped out of whack will correct themselves. Also, I would have been more proud of AB if they were still “family owned”. This sucks, I know - but AB does not make the city, YOU DO, and furthermore we have other things that we as a great midwestern city can be proud of. And as for the loss of charity donations from AB, they averaged what 13 mil? Well, lets be a community and pick up the tab and show AB / INBEV that we do not need them to thrive in our city! Oh, and yes if everyone gave just a little we could actually average 13 mil on our own. Estimated current Population 2,866,517 strong and if each of us gave just 5 bucks in one year we could outdo AB’s donatons easy…in just one year I am sure even the poorest citizen could squeeze out 5 bucks. I know it ain’t gonna happen just like that - but realize that all of us are still proud and we can take care ourselves with or without AB. Besides, nothing is American in this country anymore- only the Americans so be proud of what we have left! I STILL LOVE YOU STL and I will do my part to help maintain our pride!

grapeape–where does this idea come from that we’re going to sell our entire nation? First, we were going to sell it all to Japan in the 1980’s. Now, because all three beer companies got taken over, IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD!

I think it takes a vast amount of naivete to suggest that type of thing. We continue to have the largest economy in the world with strong companies that will continue to make us leaders in the world economy.

A-B was not a leader, and it was gobbled up as a result. It had multiple opportunities to expand, and it didn’t take them.

Most midsize companies are faced with a choice: grow, or get bought. A-B didn’t grow, so it was bought.

I also think your grasp of why the difference in value between the Euro and the Dollar allows them to make this deal is lacking. Our currency is worth over 100 times as much as the Japanese Yen. By your logic, we should own everything in that darn country. What matters is what that currency buys in the local market and how this is expected to change over time.

There is no such thing as a merger that is good for both companies.; One gets eaten up, that’s just how it works.
5 years from now the AB footprint on marketing and the people who buy Budweiser will be totally different.
Goodbye Clydesdales.

To Stan Smith (10:33) “The shareholders are the ones who put their hard-earned money at risk….” People who invested in A-B are not risk-takers, and I’m one of them. If anything, A-B was about as safe as putting your money in a safe-deposit box for many years. Yes, it has been stagnant for years now. So, are there any risk-takers still holding shares? Well, maybe the people who jumped on the rumor and bought in the $50’s a few weeks ago.

An investor really going out on a limb would have sold some time ago and bought a trendy stock. Owning A-B is a longer-term venture, not a day-trader-style investment. Too bad there will be one less solid place to invest now. I was sad to see how the last few weeks played out. It was nothing more than a greedy frenzy.