Disappointingly, but unsurprisingly, Anheuser-Busch will reject InBev’s takeover bid. Will they do so by promising shareholders much more value as an independent company? It’s hard to see how they could do that while maintaining a straight face. Will they wave the patriotic flag and say they’re protecting jobs in the heartland? No, that doesn’t seem likely either:
In its effort to justify rejecting InBev’s $65 a share bid, Anheuser-Busch is expected to announce a massive reorganization to boost profits that includes cutting more than $500 million in costs…
The reorginaztion may anger some locals and politicians in St. Louis who had been pressing Anheuser-Busch to reject the bid, in part, to save local jobs. The reorganization is expected to include scores of job cuts.
I’m not sure what "scores of job cuts" means, but even before it’s officially announced there’s quite obviously nothing compelling about the alternative being mooted by the Anheuser-Busch board. By forcing InBev to go hostile, all they will achieve is a lot of unhelpful fighting on the way to an inevitable conclusion. Sad.