This post could be subtitled, “The Belgians are coming! The Belgians are coming!”
Ten angry beer-drinkers, fearing possible monopolization of suds sales in the U.S., have filed suit to block the $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. by Belgian beer-brewer InBev.
Plaintiffs are listed as individuals who drink Anheuser-Bush products and would suffer higher beer prices because the merger would limit competition. The suit, alleging anti-trust law violations, was filed in St. Louis, home of the brewer of Budweiser.
The suit is one of about a dozen filed either in support or against of the merger and shows lingering resentment of foreign corporate takeovers of American iconic firms.
InBev officials claim that the merger will not create a monopoly because its beers, such as Stella Artois and Beck’s, are niche market items.
What’s your view? Is this suit a harbinger of an anti-foreign firm backlash or is it merely froth?
[Editor's Note: But if this keeps up, Peter, one wonders how long it will be before the Belgian tricolor flies over the offices IBM, GM and, heaven forfend, the Pentagon itself! Where is the outrage?]
