Lots of people have bought Budweiser when they couldn't really afford it. You could probably find data to support the thesis that millions have borrowed a few dollars to fill their fridges with the cold tasteless brew.
But if rumors are true, financier Eddie Lampert (called the next Warren Buffett - question mark -- by BusinessWeek) could sink himself further in debt than any beer lover, ever, in his quest to own the King of Beers. According to reports, Lampert is ready to launch a buyout of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (NYSE:BUD), at $56 a share. Shares are up 2% to $47.98 on the whispers. With an LTD-to-equity ratio of 2.4, that would be one heck of a leveraged buyout.
Jim Cramer's skepticism may have kept the stock from going much higher; he claimed that the buyout didn't make much sense and opined that it would not, indeed, happen.
[Photo Brian Teutsch]
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