KEY POINTS:
People in St Louis, Missouri, the historic home of Budweiser beer and its maker Anheuser-Busch, reacted angrily to reports that Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, is preparing to endorse the sale of the company to Belgian brewer InBev.
Buffett was damned as "a traitor" and "un-American" as tempers in the city remained high, following the unsolicited US$46 billion ($61 billion) offer which would pitch the iconic American beer into foreign ownership. Carlos Brito, chief executive of InBev, wrote in a St Louis newspaper that InBev would not cut jobs in the city and would turn St Louis into InBev's US headquarters. InBev will also protect Budweiser's heritage.
"We would maintain a St Louis civic presence and support of certain institutions, as ... this is a key part of what Anheuser-Busch, as a corporate citizen, and Budweiser, as a brand, are about," he wrote.
Protesters took to the streets of St Louis over the weekend, chanting "Hell, no, Bud won't go", to protest against the sale, and petitions have sprung up on the internet.
Brito met Missouri senator Clair McCaskill yesterday, but speaking after their meeting, McCaskill said she would do "everything possible" to stop the sale.
Politicians may have less influence, however, than Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway investment company holds 5 per cent of Anheuser-Busch shares, more than the family of August Busch, the chief executive and great-grandson of the company's founder.
- INDEPENDENT
