Reports: InBev is talking with Anheuser-Busch

InBev has raised its offer by $5 a share, a report said.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — After weeks of public bickering, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.’s board is likely to accept a sweetened buyout offer from the Belgian-based brewer InBev SA as early as this weekend, a published report said.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both cite unnamed sources in reports Friday that the talks have become friendly.

The Journal reported that InBev has boosted its takeover offer for the St. Louis-based maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers by $5 a share to $70. It said the Anheuser-Busch board is likely to accept the offer this weekend.

That would be a stunning turnaround from the often heated rhetoric between the two companies over the past several days.

Anheuser-Busch “does not confirm, deny or speculate on rumors of potential investments, acquisitions, mergers, new business partnerships or other transactions,” said W. Randolph Baker, the company’s vice president and chief financial officer. InBev offered no immediate comment.

Anheuser-Busch shares rose $5.20, or 8.5 percent, to $66.41 in afternoon trading after rising to a 52-week high of $66.48 earlier.

Analyst Juli Niemann of Smith Moore & Co. investment brokers agrees the merger could be announced any day.

“It really is all about the money,” Niemann said. “We just had to get a little bit more on the table. Bottom line is the rest is just housekeeping — what’s going to be the name of the new company, that sort of thing. The layoffs will go ahead. Asset sales — you’ve got to pay for it.”

News of the potential deal hit hard in St. Louis, where many — perhaps most — bars and restaurants prominently display Budweiser and Bud Light signs. Many sell Anheuser-Busch products exclusively.

“Right now, we’re the closest bar to the biggest brewery in the world. Next year, we’re going to be the closest bar to InBev’s North American headquarters. It just doesn’t sound right,” said James “Jimbo” Sinovic, owner of Bid Daddy’s bar.

Down the street at the Cat’s Meow, bartender Terry Boren said customers will probably keep buying Budweiser, Michelob and other brands, even if they’re no longer “American owned.”

But if InBev stays true to its reputation for vigorous cost-cutting, resentments might linger.

“If the jobs stay here, I think everyone will stay pretty loyal,” Boren said.

InBev announced a $46 billion takeover bid on June 11. The Anheuser-Busch board rejected it as too low. But InBev pushed ahead.

On Monday, InBev’s takeover effort escalated to a hostile bid when the maker of Stella Artois and Beck’s announced through a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it would attempt to remove all 13 members of the Anheuser-Busch board. Anheuser-Busch responded by saying InBev sought a “hand-picked board” to buy the company at a discount.