Anheuser-Busch Takes InBev Offer

Anheuser-Busch(BUD Quote), the St. Louis-based brewer of Budweiser beer, agreed Sunday to a $70-a-share takeover offer by InBev of Belgium, according to a published report.

The merged company -- which will become the largest brewer in the world -- will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, The Wall Street Journal's Web site reported. The deal ends more than a month of tense speculation and angry words between the two companies.

Anheuser had rejected InBev's original $65-a-share, or $46.3 billion offer, saying it had undervalued the company, known in American lore for its long-neck beer bottles with the red label and its Clydesdale horses. The Journal reported the value of the deal at $52 billion. Anheuser will get two seats on the new company's board, with one going to its CEO August Busch IV.

The deal is certain to rankle some in Missouri, where the state's top politicians came out against a foreign takeover of BUD, a folksy institution that dates to 1860. The political leaders also have expressed concern about InBev's penchant for cutting costs and jobs. ...