Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch is suing InBev after declaring that their “bargain price” offer of $65 a share is illegal. Anheuser-Busch accuses InBev of using “deceptive conduct” to try to win control of the company. We previously reported that InBev filed a statement with regulators in an attempt to take over Anheuser-Busch's board.
In the new suit, Anheuser-Busch is seeking an injunction against them, in hopes of stopping any form of takeover.
They also claim that InBev was spewing false rumors of an acquisition last month and their attempts to take over the board is a “self-serving effort” to try to purchase the company at a lowered price.
“To date, Anheuser-Busch has been unwilling to engage with InBev in a dialogue to achieve a friendly combination. As such, InBev believes it is time to take action to ensure Anheuser-Busch shareholders are provided the opportunity to have a direct voice in the process and a say in the future direction of the company,” according to a recent statement by InBev.
Anheuser-Busch also claims in the suit that InBev does not have sufficient financing to facilitate the $46 billion takeover bid stating, “Given the state of the credit markets today, no group of financial institutions would unconditionally commit $40 billion to a borrower to pursue a hostile acquisition.”
With St. Louis serving as the battlefield for the case, InBev placed a full-page ad in yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The ad stated that Budweiser would be expanded globally and the takeover would make for a stronger, more competitive global company.