With Anheuser-Busch selling out to InBev, Sam Adams is the #1 independent, publicly traded American brewery

From HuffingtonPost.com…

NEW YORK (Fortune) — The pending acquisition of Anheuser-Busch (BUD, Fortune 500) has left some Americans crying in their beer over the loss of iconic brands like Budweiser to Belgian-based InBev. But the $52 billion acquisition is in keeping with this quarter’s surge of international companies buying U.S. players. In the second quarter, acquisitions of American-owned companies by foreign businesses tallied $130.2 billion, making it the highest total for any second quarter recorded and 29 percent higher than the 2007 period, according to research firm Dealogic.

In the beer industry, the merger leaves Boston Beer Co. (SAM) as the country’s largest, independent, publicly-traded brewery. Even with this new status, the brewery behind Sam Adams beer, founded by Jim Koch (pronounced “Cook”) in his kitchen in 1984, has less than 1% market share in the United States. Anheuser-Busch commands about 50 percent of the U.S. market.

Foreign Ownership of US Industries

Now that InBev officially owns Anheuser-Bush, lets take a look at the bigger picture of foreign ownership of US industries…

From EconomyInCrisis.org

This data comes from IRS (Internal Revenue Service) – Current as of 2002 (latest data available).

Foreign ownership refers to ownership of assets of a particular industry by foreign controlled domestic U.S. Corporations (FDC) 50% or more owned by a foreign entity.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF SELECTED U.S. INDUSTRIES
Industry	Percentage Foreign Owned
Sound recording industries	97%
Commodity contracts dealing and brokerage	79%
Motion picture and sound recording industries	75%
Metal ore mining	65%
Motion picture and video industries	64%
Wineries and distilleries	64%
Database, directory, and other publishers	63%
Book publishers	63%
Cement, concrete, lime, and gypsum product	62%
Engine, turbine and power transmission equipment	57%
Rubber product	53%
Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing	53%
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing	52%
Plastics product	51%
Other insurance related activities	51%
Boiler, tank, and shipping container	50%
Glass and glass product	48%
Coal mining	48%
Sugar and confectionery product	48%
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying	47%
Advertising and related services	41%
Pharmaceutical and medicine	40%
Clay, refractory, and other nonmetallic mineral products	40%
Securities brokerage	38%
Other general purpose machinery	37%
Audio and video equipment mfg and reproducing magnetic and optical media	36%
Support activities for mining	36%
Soap, cleaning compound, and toilet preparation	32%
Chemical manufacturing	30%
Industrial machinery	30%
Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities	30%
Other food	29%
Motor vehicles and parts	29%
Machinery manufacturing	28%
Other electrical equipment and component	28%
Securities and commodity exchanges and other financial investment activities	27%
Architectural, engineering, and related services	26%
Credit card issuing and other consumer credit	26%
Petroleum refineries (including integrated)	25%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments	25%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing	25%
Transportation equipment manufacturing	25%
Commercial and service industry machinery	25%
Basic chemical	24%
Investment banking and securities dealing	24%
Semiconductor and other electronic component	23%
Paint, coating, and adhesive.	22%
Printing and related support activities	21%
Chemical product and preparation	20%
Iron, steel mills, and steel products	20%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery	20%
Publishing industries	20%
Medical equipment and supplies	20%
FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF MAJOR U.S. INDUSTRIES
Industry	Percentage Foreign Owned
Mining	27%
Information	24%
Manufacturing	20%
Professional, scientific, and technical services	20%
Finance and insurance	11%

Busch League! Anheuser-Busch sells out to Belgium’s InBev for $50 billion

By Jessica Hall and Martinne Geller
Reuters
July 13, 2008
Click here for the original article

PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc agreed to a $50 billion takeover by Belgium-based InBev NV, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday, creating the world’s largest beer maker.

The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, said the sources, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. Anheuser will get seats on the new company’s board, the sources said, but it was not immediately clear how many.

Adding another dimension to any deal was Mexico’s No. 1 brewer Grupo Modelo (Mexico:GMODELOC.MX – News), which is 50 percent owned by Anheuser. The maker of Corona beer, which has the right to choose its partner, has not yet approved InBev for that role and the two brewers remain in talks, according to one person familiar with the situation…

Click here for the full story

InBev May Pursue Hostile Takeover After Anheuser Busch Rejects Buyout Offer

I visited the Drudge Report today and saw a headline linking to the following story:

By Jonathan Birchall
Financial Times – FT.com
June 26, 2008
Click here for the original article

InBev, the world’s largest brewer, said on Thursday it was preparing to launch a hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch, following reports that its US rival was preparing to reject its $46bn bid for the maker of Budweiser and Michelob beers.

In a court document filed in Delaware, InBev said it was preparing to launch a proxy battle seeking the removal of Anheuser’s entire board, citing “delays and apparent plans to attempt to block the acquisition”…

Which got me thinking…. what exactly IS a “hostile takeover”? I’ve heard of it before but never knew exactly what it was… so here goes:

From WiseGeek.com:

A hostile takeover is a type of corporate takeover which is carried out against the wishes of the board of the target company. This unique type of acquisition does not occur nearly as frequently as friendly takeovers, in which the two companies work together because the takeover is perceived as beneficial. Hostile takeovers can be traumatic for the target company, and they can also be risky for the other side, as the acquiring company may not be able to obtain certain relevant information about the target company.

Companies are bought and sold on a daily basis. There are two types of sale agreements. In the first, a merger, two companies come together, blending their assets, staff, facilities, and so forth. After a merger, the original companies cease to exist, and a new company arises instead. In a takeover, a company is purchased by another company. The purchasing company owns all of the target company’s assets including company patents, trademarks, and so forth. The original company may be entirely swallowed up, or may operate semi-independently under the umbrella of the acquiring company.

Typically, a company which wishes to acquire another company approaches the target company’s board with an offer. The board members consider the offer, and then choose to accept or reject it. The offer will be accepted if the board believes that it will promote the long term welfare of the company, and it will be rejected if the board dislike the terms or it feels that a takeover would not be beneficial. When a company pursues takeover after rejection by a board, it is a hostile takeover. If a company bypasses the board entirely, it is also termed a hostile takeover.

Publicly traded companies are at risk of hostile takeover because opposing companies can purchase large amounts of their stock to gain a controlling share. In this instance, the company does not have to respect the feelings of the board because it already essentially owns and controls the firm. A hostile takeover may also involve tactics like trying to sweeten the deal for individual board members to get them to agree.

An acquiring firm takes a risk by attempting a hostile takeover. Because the target firm is not cooperating, the acquiring firm may unwittingly take on debts or serious problems, since it does not have access to all of the information about the company. Many firms also have trouble getting financing for hostile takeovers, since some banks are reluctant to lend in these situations.

Hope this helps…!