InBev swallows Anheuser-Busch in $52b takeover

Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev is to swallow US rival Anheuser-Busch in a 52 billion dollar (33 billion euro) takeover creating the world's biggest brewer, the companies said Monday.
After having resisted offers from InBev for a month, the Anheuser-Busch board finally agreed on Sunday to accept a sweetened bid that had been raised to 70 dollars a share in cash from 65.
While capping Anheuser's roughly 150 years of independence as a premier American brewer, the deal creates not only the world's largest beer company but one of the top five consumer goods groups in the world.
The new company would have net sales of about 36 billion dollars a year, offering consumers about 300 brands, including Anheuser's Budweiser and Bud Light and InBev's Stella Artois and Beck's.
InBev chief executive Carlos Brito, a tough Brazilian known for cutting costs, is to lead the new company, which will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, the groups said in a statement.