Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Spurned InBev replies to Anheuser-Busch

InBev CEO Carlos Brito issued a statement Tuesday saying the Belgian brewer is committed to its $65-per-share offer price for Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. and said InBev "will pursue all available avenues" to allow A-B shareholders to have a direct voice in the process.

In his statement, Brito reiterated InBev's previous stance that $65 per share "reflects the full and fair value of the company." A-B formally rejected InBev's $46.3 billion takeover proposal on June 26, calling the $65-per-share offer "financially inadequate and not in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch shareholders." This is InBev's first response since the rejection.

Brito said in the statement he is skeptical of A-B's expanded cost-cutting plan, dubbed Blue Ocean, that the leading domestic brewer says will save more than $1 billion over the next four years.

"Our firm proposal was rejected in favor of a newly formulated management plan with significant execution risks," Brito said in the statement.

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