Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are reporting that InBev has increased their offer to buy Anheuser-Busch from $65 a share to $70.
Warren Buffet is now saying he’s leaning toward endorsing the InBev takeover. Both Business Week and the CBC are also reporting that talks have turned “friendly” and they’re discussing takeover. Many analysts are also speculating that A-B will likely accept this offer, with a few even suggesting that this could all be over as early as Monday.
When this whole brew-haha began last month, there were several people who predicted that the offer could go as high as $70. It appears those people were correct. But it’s disheartening to think that all this ugly spectacle we’ve been witnessing was nothing more than A-B trying to get a higher offer. I’m cynical enough to understand that’s how business works, but every time such negotiations are revealed to be mere gamesmanship makes it even harder to trust corporate behavior than ever. There could be a sad day for the brewing world coming.