Interbrew\AmBev merger will have impact in U.S. market - Brief Article

Modern Brewery Age, March 8, 2004

Anheuser-Busch will have to make some changes in its corporate literature if the Interbrew\AmBev merger comes to its expected fruition. The "world's largest brewery" moniker will now belong to hybridized conglomerate with one foot in Europe and the other in South America.

The only way that A-B could keep its crown is through purchase of another large world brewer. Scottish & Newcastle would be the most likely candidate, but SABMiller is another likely bidder for that firm. If SABMiller were to buy S & N, it would put A-B into the unaccustomed role of a number three world brewer.

For the U.S. market, the wild card in the deal is the handover of Labatt to AmBev. Labatt's possessions in the U.S. include Labatt U.S.A. (of which FEMSA owns a share), Beck's North America and the Latrobe Brewing Co. Interbrew/Ambev.

Will Ambev execs now be running these North American firms? That remains unclear. But some think Interbrew will still exert substantial control of the merged entity. "They might call this a merger of equals, but they also said that about Chrysler and Mercedes," notes Robert S. Weinberg, Office of R.S. Weinberg, St. Louis.