The Oregonian is reporting today that merger talks between Portland’s Widmer Bros. Brewing, the largest craft brewer in Oregon, and Seattle’s Redhook Ale Brewery were disclosed on Wednesday through a mandatory regulatory filing by both Redhook and Anheuser-Busch — who owns almost 40% of Widmer and just over one-third of Redhook.

Although Widmer is probably the healthier company, Redhook (because it is traded on NASDAQ) will likely be the buyer in the deal. Rob Widmer reportedly has said that because it involves a public company that much more will be in the open due to regulatory disclosure requirements. He also stated that it is much too early in the negotiations to say when or even if anything will come of the talks.

The Seattle Times also has a more in-depth article on the talks.