Hallo Budweiser!

Say “hallo” to the new face of Budweiser: the Belgian brewer InBev has confirmed that it will purchase Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion, creating the world largest brewer. The purchase will result in the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide.

The Missouri based Anheuser-Busch was America’s largest brewer and the world’s second largest. Its brands include Budweiser (”the great American lager”), Bud Light, Michelob and Busch.

InBev’s brands include Stella Artois and Becks.

InBev claims that it will use St. Louis as its North American headquarters. InBev has also promised that it will keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch’s North American breweries, which are located in:

- St. Louis, Missouri (world headquarters)
- Baldwinsville, New York
- Cartersville, Georgia
- Columbus, Ohio
- Fairfield, California
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Houston, Texas
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
- Merrimack, New Hampshire
- Newark, New Jersey
- Williamsburg, Virginia

InBev has not promised to retain all A-B employees. It is widely believed that the company will see cutbacks as cost-cutting has been a central theme of A-B’s failed preservation plan. How significant those cutbacks will be is yet to be seen.

There’s a lot of speculation about the result of the merger – but not a lot of information. What do you think? Is this a bad thing for beer?