Dethroning the King

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

“A Foolish Book Recommendation for July.”

—The Motley Fool

“How the Busch clan lost control of an iconic American beer company. If ever an American company represented the land of milk and honey for corporate executives it was Anheuser-Busch . . . For decades a palace of well-paid vice presidents in cushy offices presided over the manufacture of Budweiser, America's beer, in that most American of cities, St. Louis. ‘Few companies on earth were more evocative of America, with all of its history and iconography, than Anheuser-Busch,' writes veteran
Financial Times
journalist Julie MacIntosh in her strenuously reported book,
Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon
. As the title suggests, the reign of the King of Beers ended in the summer of 2008, when the company merged with the Brazil-based brewing giant InBev, an outfit about as culturally different from Anheuser-Busch as one could imagine. At $70 a share, or $52 billion, it was the largest all-cash acquisition in history and even more noteworthy because it occurred during the gathering storm of a global financial collapse . . . When growth-hungry InBev arrives on the scene, a company so lean and cost-conscious that they're called the Walmart of brewers, all hell breaks loose at the complacent Anheuser-Busch headquarters. The Brazilians make a pitch of $43 billion in what's known on Wall Street as a “bear hug”—an offer so generous that the recipient can't refuse. But A-B's board does refuse, triggering weeks of moves and counter-moves and endless end-gaming by the two companies. Ms. MacIntosh relates every gambit in crisp, scene-by-scene detail.”

“Ms. MacIntosh . . . earns extra credit for staying on the Anheuser-InBev case despite considerable macrocosmic distractions . . . The author's persistence pays off in her account of the Busch family's searing internecine strife . . .
Dethroning the King
makes for a fine yarn with a cautionary message about American business in the age of globalization. InBev began laying off workers less than a month after the deal formally closed, Ms. MacIntosh reports. Maybe the next time a foreign entity tries to acquire a major American family company, the public will take notice before it becomes a fait accompli.”

“There's a lesson for all in book on brewing . . . a great read.”

“
Dethroning the King
. . . . is the compelling play-by-play of InBev's takeover of Anheuser-Busch. Give MacIntosh a Stella Artois for her excellent reporting.”

—Stltoday.com

“
Dethroning the King
is a brutally detailed look at the hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch, the legendary icon that at one time was the epitome of American business success. It is a story that may well go down in American business history as one of the defining moments of this era. [An] insightful and brilliantly written work. As American business continues to dramatically change, this compelling book should be on every businessperson's reading list.”

“In a narrative that reads as fast as any fiction thriller,
Financial Times
journalist MacIntosh details the 2008 takeover of the iconic Anheuser-Busch brewing company by Belgian corporation InBev, focusing particularly on the company's importance to the St. Louis region; its management, or lack thereof, by the Busch family (particularly the August Busches III and IV); and the broader unsettled economic climate of 2008.”

—Library Journal,
naming
Dethroning the King
one of the best business books of 2010

Copyright © 2011 by Julie MacIntosh. All rights reserved.

 

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

 

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MacIntosh, Julie.

Dethroning the king : the hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American icon / Julie MacIntosh.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-470-59270-0 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-15702-2 (pbk);
ISBN 978-1-118-20281-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-20282-1 (ebk);
ISBN 978-1-118-20283-8 (ebk)

1. Anheuser-Busch, inc. 2. Busch family. 3. Consolidation and merger of corporations—United States. I. Title.

HD9397.U6B87 2010

338.8'3663420973—dc22

2010032279

—Homer

August A. Busch III: former Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

August A. Busch IV: President and Chief Executive Officer

Carlos Fernández González: Chairman and CEO of Grupo Modelo

James J. Forese: former Chairman and CEO of IKON Office Solutions

Ambassador James R. Jones: former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico; former Chairman of the American Stock Exchange

Vernon R. Loucks Jr.: Chairman of The Aethena Group; former Chairman and CEO of Baxter International

Vilma S. Martinez: Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson; later named U.S. Ambassador to Argentina

William Porter “Billy” Payne: Vice Chairman of Gleacher Partners; Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club

Joyce M. Roché: President and CEO of Girls Incorporated

General Henry Hugh Shelton: former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Patrick T. Stokes: Chairman of Anheuser-Busch, former President and CEO

Andrew C. Taylor: Chairman and CEO of Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Douglas A. “Sandy” Warner III: former Chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase

Edward E. Whitacre Jr.: Chairman Emeritus of AT&T; later named Chairman and CEO of General Motors

W. Randolph “Randy” Baker: Chief Financial Officer

Robert Golden: head of Mergers and Acquisitions

Francine Katz: head of Communications and Consumer Affairs

Robert Lachky: head of Global Industry and Creative Development

Douglas Muhleman: head of Brewing Operations and Technology

David Peacock: head of Marketing

John “Jack” Purnell: former Chairman and CEO of Anheuser-Busch International

Gary Rutledge: head of Legal and Government Affairs

Thomas Santel: President and CEO of Anheuser-Busch International; head of Corporate Planning

Pedro Soares: aide to August Busch IV; former head of Anheuser-Busch Mexico

Charles “Casey” Cogut: Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Joseph Flom: Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Peter Gross: Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

Timothy Ingrassia: head of Americas Mergers and Acquisitions, Goldman Sachs

Leon Kalvaria: Global Head of Consumer and Health Care Banking, Citigroup

Kenneth Moelis; founder, Moelis & Company

Larry Rand: co-founder, Kekst & Company

Jeffrey Schackner: Managing Director, Citigroup

Paul Schnell: Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Carlos Brito: Chief Executive Officer
Jorge Paulo Lemann: Director and key shareholder
Carlos Alberto da Veiga Sicupira: Director and key shareholder
Marcel Herrmann Telles: Director and key shareholder

Francis Aquila: Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell

Douglas Braunstein: head of Americas Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan

Steven Golub: Vice Chairman, Lazard

Steven Lipin: Senior Partner, Brunswick Group

George Sampas: Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell

Antonio Weiss: Vice Chairman of European Investment Banking, Lazard

María Asunción Aramburuzabala Larregui de Garza: Vice Chairman of the Board, granddaughter of one of the company's founders