It's official -- a company that has stood for generations of Busch's as an icon of the American beer industry is no more. Reuters reports that Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) has accepted a $50 billion offer to be acquired by InBev. Reuters reports that the combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev.

I have been watching advertisements from Anheuser-Busch for years and I think they have been the most entertaining around. InBev is known as an aggressive cost cutter and it's not clear whether these ads will continue into the future. One thing that would not surprise me in the least would be for the Busch family -- whose sons have run the place for generations -- to take their money and leave the business.

With Abu Dhabi buying Manhattan's Chrysler building last week, it will be interesting to see what other American icons get sold off to the highest global bidder before the next president takes office.

Bye Bye Bud originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been about two weeks since InBev NV made its blockbuster $46.3 billion bid for rival Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc (NYSE: BUD). Yes, the silence has been deafening. And, of course, the rumors have been rampant.

In fact, InBev has been getting antsy. For example, this week the company reaffirmed its bid (it's the third letter from InBev's CEO, Carlos Brito).

There is also a lending group ready to pull the trigger. The banks include: Banco Santander, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Fortis, ING Bank, JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Mizuho Corporate Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.

But, according to the Wall Street Journal [a paid publication], it looks like the company's board is close to making an announcement. Although, it appears that the company will reject the deal. Essentially, Anheuser-Busch thinks the deal is too cheap.

That may be the case. But there's a problem: who can pay a higher price for the company?

Interestingly enough, it appears that Anheuser-Busch will make some restructuring moves (such as selling non-core assets). But why didn't it do this several years ago?

The fact remains that the company doesn't have a viable alternative - that is, unless InBev wants to bid against itself. But why?

Instead, it's a good bet that InBev will go directly to shareholders and pull off a hostile bid. In such a move, it will certainly put lots of pressure on Anheuser-Busch - which has few defenses - and perhaps get a deal done fairly quickly.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Anheuser-Busch (BUD) to shareholders: This deal is not for you originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.