A giant Belgian beer company will become the world's largest brewer with a takeover of Anheuser-Busch, the maker of the iconic U.S. labels Budweiser and Bud Light.
On Sunday, Anheuser-Busch's board of directors announced they had accepted InBev SA's $52 billion takeover offer.
The deal, if approved, will give InBev nearly half the beer market in the U.S., based largely on the popular Budweiser brand.
News of the agreement boosted the brewer's shares 4.5 per cent Monday morning in European trading.
"The deal has synergies in Canada," BNN's Michael Kane told CTV's Canada AM.
"Budweiser is brewed under licence in this country by Labatt, which is also owned by InBev. The transaction, if approved by regulators and shareholders makes the new company the world's largest brewery in terms of sales volume."
InBev is currently the world's second largest, behind South Africa-based SABMiller.
The acquisition of Anheuser-Busch -- the largest brewer in the U.S. with 48 per cent of market share -- would make InBev the world's fourth-largest consumer product company.
"This combination will create a stronger, more competitive global company with an unrivaled worldwide brand portfolio and distribution network, with great potential for growth all over the world,'' InBev CEO Carlos Brito said in the statement.
InBev's signature brands already include Beck's and Stella Artois.
Brito has been named chief executive officer of the new company, which will be called Anheuser-Busch-InBev.
Roughly 6,000 people are employed by Anheuser-Bush in St. Louis, Mo., where the brewer is currently based. Several politicians from the state have voiced concerns over the deal, mostly in regards to the job security of those employed in St. Louis.
There is no indication how long it might take for the merger to be approved. InBev has signalled its intention to retain the St. Louis location as its North American headquarters and to keep open all 12 Anheuser-Bush breweries currently operating in North America.
Shareholders will receive $70 a share, a $5 increase over an offer Anheuser-Busch rejected in June.
The deal comes after several weeks of tension after the initial offer was rejected.
InBev sought the removal of all 13 Anheuser-Bush board members, while the U.S. brewer filed its own suit calling the buyout bid an "illegal scheme" claiming InBev failed to disclose all of its operations -- including a brewery in Cuba.
However, the two sides seem to have reached a compromise with the $5 per-share increase.
"This agreement provides additional and certain value for Anheuser-Busch shareholders, while enhancing global market access for Budweiser, one of America's true iconic brands,'' August Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch president and CEO, said in the statement.
