Belgian-Brazilian InBev Buys Anheuser-Busch for $52B

Legendary American brewing company Anheuser-Busch has agreed to a $52 billion takeover bid by the Belgian-Brazilian InBev, building the largest beer firm in the world and ending over 150 years of ownership by the Anheuser and Busch families, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $70-per-share deal is a step up from an earlier, rejected offer.

The resulting $36 billion-a-year company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser will retain two seats on the 14-member board. Though Anheuser CEO August Busch IV had insisted there would be no deal “on my watch,” officials accepted the offer in the interest of shareholders. Now, the face-off will be between the new giant and London’s SABMiller, the next-biggest brewer. (More Anheuser-Busch stories.)