Anheuser-Busch InBev

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A selection of bottle caps from beer brands across the world.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is an international brewing company created by the 2008 merger of Anheuser-Busch and InBev. When the merger was completed, AB InBev became the largest brewer in the world. The headquarters are in Leuven, Belgium.

InBev—which was founded through the merger (2004) of the Brazilian Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev) and the Belgian Interbrew SA—was an international brewer that produced more than 200 brands of beer, notably Stella Artois, Bass, and Hoegaarden. In 2008, rumors surfaced that it planned a hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American company that was among the largest makers of beer; its brands included Budweiser, Busch, Natural Light, and Michelob.

The takeover was greeted with opposition in the United States, largely because of the possibility of job losses as well as the prospect of the iconic American brand coming under foreign control. After InBev agreed to certain conditions—namely, that it would not close any breweries in the United States—Anheuser-Busch agreed to be purchased for some $52 billion. The deal was finalized in November 2008, with Anheuser-Busch becoming a subsidiary of the newly formed Anheuser-Busch InBev. The combined company became the world’s largest brewer, with products in more than 100 countries, and in its first full year of operation it reported revenue of more than $36 billion.

The following year, Busch Entertainment (the catch-all name for the theme park division that included SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, and several water park brands) was sold to private equity group Blackstone for an estimated $2.7 billion. Blackstone would spin it into a new company, SeaWorld Entertainment, which would then change its name to United Parks and Resorts (PRKS) in 2024.

In 2015 it was announced that Anheuser-Busch InBev would be acquiring SABMiller, a rival brewer. As part of the deal, SABMiller agreed to sell its stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors, which owned the remainder of MillerCoors. Also as part of the agreement, the company agreed to sell some of the larger European SABMiller brands such as Peroni, Pilsner Urquell, and Grolsch to Japanese brewer Asahi.

Anheuser-Busch InBev completed the acquisition—valued at more than $100 billion—in October 2016. When the dust settled, AB InBev added several global brands to its holdings, including Beck’s and Foster’s. In 2019, however, the company agreed to sell its Australian affiliate Carlton and United Breweries—including Foster’s—to Asahi in a deal valued at $16 billion. The company also sold off its China operations, including Tsingtao and Snow, the country’s top-selling beer.