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Revision as of 17:35, 25 September 2009

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Company typeWholly-owned subsidiary
IndustryBeverages, packaging, and entertainment
Founded1852, incorporated in 1875
HeadquartersSt. Louis, Missouri, United States
Key peopleDave Peacock (CEO)
ProductsBeers, lagers, malt beverages, energy drinks, bottled water
RevenueIncrease$16.7 billion (2007)
Number of employees30,849 (2007)
ParentAnheuser-Busch InBev
Websitewww.anheuser-busch.com

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the United States. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other countries. It is also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the company's family entertainment division, Busch Entertainment Corporation. It is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2009)
Interior of the St. Louis brewery

Anheuser-Busch began as a small brewery located in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1860, Eberhard Anheuser, a prosperous German-born soap manufacturer, became owner of the struggling brewery. Adolphus Busch, Anheuser’s son-in-law, became partner in 1869, and became president when Anheuser died in 1880.

Adolphus Busch was the first U.S. brewer to use pasteurization to keep beer fresh, the first to use artificial refrigeration and refrigerated railroad cars and the first to bottle beer extensively. In 1876, Busch introduced America’s first national beer brand: Budweiser. In 1877, Busch introduced the company's first cola: King Cola.

Anheuser-Busch became the largest brewer in the United States in 1957.

Anheuser-Busch International, Inc. was established in 1981, and is responsible for the company's foreign beer operations and equity investments.

As of 2008, it has 48.9% share of beer sales in the United States (by barrels), and produces about 11 billion bottles of beer a year.

Acquisition by InBev

Main article: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Rare Olive Drab Budweiser Can

On June 12, 2008, Brazilian - Belgian brewing company InBev announced that it had agreed to a US$ 46 billion dollar offer for the company. If this had been successful, it would have joined two of the world's four largest brewing companies (based on revenue) and create a company that brews three of the highest grossing beers in the world, namely Bud Light, Budweiser, and Skol. InBev also stated that the merger would not result in any U.S. brewery closures and they would also attempt to keep on management and board members from both companies. On June 25, 2008, Anheuser-Busch officially announced that they would reject InBev's offer and provide a restructuring of company to maintain shareholders and United States World Headquarters in St. Louis. On July 1, 2008, InBev urged Anheuser-Busch shareholders to vote in favor of the buyout as InBev felt the offer of $65 per share should be considered a reasonable offer in view of the falling stock market. The company had previously filed suit in Delaware, after the rejection of their offer, to ensure that the stockholders could oust Anheuser-Busch's 13 board members. On July 7, 2008, Anheuser-Busch filed a lawsuit against InBev to stop them from soliciting support of shareholders, stating that the company's offer is an illegal scheme. InBev was also accused of concealing that they do business in Cuba, which might have created additional obstacles to their efforts to operate in the United States.

On July 13, 2008, Anheuser-Busch and InBev said they had agreed to a deal, pending shareholder and regulatory approval, for InBev to purchase the American icon at $70 per share, creating a new company to be named Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser-Busch would get two seats on the combined board of directors. The all-cash agreement, almost $52 billion in total equity, would create the world’s largest brewer, uniting the maker of Budweiser and Michelob with the producer of Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe and Beck's, Bass, Labatt and Brahma. The two companies would have yearly sales of more than $36.4 billion, surpassing the current No. 1 brewer, London-based SABMiller.

Changes introduced by InBev

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On November 18, 2008 the acquisition was completed and the company is now known as Anheuser-Busch Inbev. Within six months, InBev "turned a family-led company that spared little expense into one that is focused intently on cost-cutting and profit margins, while rethinking the way it sells beer." InBev is applying an approach that "stresses a sharp eye on costs and incentive-based pay structures" that it inherited from AmBev in a prior acquisition; among the changes:

  • 1400 U.S. employees (6%) and 415 contractors were laid off
  • introduced what InBev called an "increased focus on meritocracy" that means salaried workers receive a base salary targeted to be 80% to 100% of the market rate
  • about 40 of its executives were granted a total of 28 million stock options, "potentially worth tens of millions of dollars to each recipient, if the company reduces its debt-to-income ratio by about half in five years"
  • for senior management, elimination of executive assistants and private secretaries
  • elimination of free beer formerly available at the theme parks
  • announced it would end contributions to its pension plan for salaried employees in 2012
  • ornate executive suites" were replaced by a "sea of desks"
  • the number of company-supplied BlackBerrys for employees cut from 1200 to 720
  • accounts payable terms lengthened to 120 days
  • zero-based budgeting
  • put all its corporate jets for sale
  • announced that in January 2010, it will stop providing life insurance for retirees

These changes are also accompanied by changes in its advertising.

Breweries

North American corporate headquarters and brewery

Main article: Anheuser-Busch Brewery (St. Louis, Missouri) See also: Alcohol laws of Missouri United States historic place
Anheuser-Busch Brewery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
The packaging plant in Saint Louis, Missouri
Location721 Pestalozzi, St. Louis, Missouri
Area142 acres
Built1875
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No.66000945
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 13, 1966
Designated NHLDNovember 13, 1966

Anheuser-Busch InBev's North American headquarters are located in St. Louis, Missouri. The brewery there, the largest of the Anheuser-Busch breweries, was opened in 1852 and includes three buildings that are listed as National Historic Landmarks. At the headquarters, near downtown Saint Louis, free tours of the brewery are available to the public. The tour takes visitors through the complex, and those of the legal age can enjoy two free glasses of any Anheuser-Busch product, that is often brewed the very same day, in the Hospitality Room after the tour. Tourists can see beer being made in a working part of the brewery (from behind plexiglas shields).

The company keeps a rotation of its famous Budweiser Clydesdales at its headquarters, and visitors to the brewery can observe the Clydesdales in their exercise field and see their places in the carriage house. The bulk of the herd is kept at the company farm in St. Louis County. The farm, known as Grant's Farm (having been owned by former President Ulysses S. Grant at one time), is home to a menagerie of animals.

The brewery was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1966. The landmarked area includes 189 structures spread over 142 acres (0.57 km), including many red brick Romanesque ones "with square crenelated towers and elaborate details." The Brew House, built in 1891-1892, is particularly notable for its "multi-storied hop chandelier, intricate iron-work, and utilization of natural light".

United States breweries

In the United States, Anheuser-Busch operates 12 breweries:

International operations

Budweiser Stag brewery in Mortlake, London, UK

Outside the United States, Anheuser-Busch operates 15 breweries - 14 in China and one in the United Kingdom; In China, A-B operates Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing Company, Ltd. and Harbin Brewery Group Ltd which A-B fully acquired in 2004. Chinese production of AB products in China started, in Wuhan, after their purchase of a local brewery in 1997. In the United Kingdom, the Budweiser Stag Brewing Company Ltd. produces and packages Budweiser, but this brewery is due to close in 2010 as part of cost controls introduced following Anheuser-Busch's acquisition by InBev.

Budweiser is also locally brewed in eight other countries: Argentina, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Spain.

Anheuser-Busch strategic equity investments include:

Beverage products

Anheuser-Busch's best known beers include brands such as Budweiser, Busch (originally known as Busch Bavarian Beer) and Michelob families, Bud Light, and Natural Light. The company also produces a number of smaller-volume and specialty beers, nonalcoholic brews, malt liquors (King Cobra and the Hurricane family), and flavored malt beverages (e.g. the Bacardi Silver family and Tequiza). In addition to brewing its own beer, Anheuser-Busch is responsible for the importation and distribution in the U.S. of a number of international beers.

This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (August 2009)

Budweiser family

Michelob family

Other A-B beer brands

Other beverages

Beers imported and distributed

Advertising

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This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (August 2009)
Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.
A pre-1911 "shorty" reefer bears an advertisement for Anheuser-Busch's Malt Nutrine tonic. The product was discontinued in 1942.
1898 magazine ad for Malt-Nutrine.

Prior to its acquisition by InBev, the company was known in the United States for its advertising presence, including a sports marketing division which creates advertising material for the Super Bowl and many other sporting events. Budweiser has sponsored horse racing events and motor sports including NASCAR and the "Budweiser King" championship top fuel dragster of Kenny Bernstein.

Busch television campaigns have included:

  • Clydesdales, used both at liberty and being driven in harness, such as:
    • The Budweiser Clydesdales pulling traditional beer wagons
    • The traditional holiday spot featuring the Clydesdales pulling a sleigh through a snowy town, concluding with a closeup of a wreath on a door.
    • Clydesdales playing football (with a couple cowboys as the audience, and a zebra for a referee)
    • A donkey that thinks he's a horse and wants to be one of the Budweiser Clydesdales
    • A Clydesdale foal, who dreams of making the hitch, pretending to pull the beer wagon, which is secretly being pushed from behind by his Clydesdale parents.
  • Dalmatians, also associated with the traditional Budweiser Clydesdale iconography
  • The "Gimme a light" spots;
  • "You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay" (as referenced in Being There and The Simpsons)
  • Frogs saying "Bud-weis-er." The ad campaign later spawned additional characters: Louie and Frankie the chameleons and an inept ferret hit man.
  • The annual Bud Bowl.
  • The "Waazzzup" series.
  • The "Real American Heroes/Real Men of Genius" series of humorous radio and television ads.
  • In the past they have marketed their beer through the name NASCAR Busch Series and on Dale Earnhardt Jr's #8 Chevy Monte Carlo. Currently they sponsor Kasey Kahne's #9 Dodge Charger as well as numerous campaigns in the NHRA such as The Big Bud Shootout at the US Nationals and major sponsorship with Kenny Bernstein Racing
  • Bud Man is an advertising character for Budweiser beer. He is a superhero and appears on many products aimed at coeds on University campuses. He also inspired Duffman, a character on The Simpsons.
  • In the UK when Budweiser became the sponsor of the Premiership football league, a humorous series of adverts showed involving the subsequent (fictional) 'Americanisation' of the game, including such ideas as giving the teams more exciting names (The Portsmouth Pirates) and the merging of longtime rival teams Manchester City and Manchester United into one Team Manchester, all with the tagline "you do the football, we'll do the beer". Ironically, A-B, based out of a city where soccer has always been popular, is sponsor of the St Louis (formerly Busch) Soccer Club and owns the Anheuser-Busch Center in suburban Fenton, whose main attraction is a 10,000-seat soccer park that hosts the Missouri state championships.
  • Current television commercials use the slogan "King of Beers."
  • A widely-known "This Bud's for you" ad campaign

The company has long been known for its jingles. A few of them are:

Since the acquisition by InBev, significant changes in advertising plans have been rolled out, predicated on the belief that "changing demographics and media habits no longer require spending as much on mainstream sports events":

  • A-B is cutting its television advertising budget for the U.S. broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics and "won't seek to be the exclusive beer advertiser" for those events
  • dropping Omnicom Group's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and other advertising agencies "responsible for some of its best-known past ads"
  • paying by the project rather than an annual lump sum
  • reducing the annual number of new advertisements from 100 to 50-60.

Environmental record

In 2002, Researchers at the University of Massachusetts ranked Anheuser–Busch 40th among the "Toxic 100," a list of U.S. corporations most responsible for air pollution. The study found that Anheuser–Busch released 1,002,786 kg (2,213,657 lbs) of toxic pollutants annually into the air.

Anheuser-Busch has received numerous awards for its efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. In 1995 Anheuser-Busch's Baldwinsville brewery won an award for pollution prevention from the New York Governor for its use of a "comprehensive, energy-producing pollution-prevention system - bioenergy recovery - to treat wastewater from the brewing process." The brewery also reduced solid waste by nearly 70 percent from 1990 to 1994. In addition, the Baldwinsville brewery found markets for previous "waste" materials used in the fermentation of Anheuser-Busch beers. The Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corp. recycled more than 27 billion cans in 2006, a number far greater than what was used in its own packaging. Similarly, Anheuser-Busch has set short-term goals to reduce energy consumption 5% and increasing use of renewable fuel from 8 to 15% by 2010. Along with these goals, Anheuser-Busch has succeeded in cutting down its water use by 3 % since 2002. Anheuser-Busch is investigating several other renewable energy possibilities such as biomass, wind, solar, and landfill gas as a fuel to reduce the company's environmental impact. The Corporation has also made commitments to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions "by 5 percent from its 2005 baseline by 2010 as part of its membership in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders program."

The brewery also operates an environmental outreach program to encourage recycling, energy conservation, and habitat preservation, as well as to prevent littering and water pollution. For past 18 years Anheuser-Busch employees have participated in "Green Week", which focuses on environmental conservation education for employees and their families.

Anheuser-Busch states they do not use animal derived products, artificial ingredients, additives or preservatives at any stage of the brewing process or as part of the packaging in any of their range. All Anheuser-Busch beers are brewed using water, yeast, barley malt, hops, and sometimes additional cereal grains. Anheuser-Busch eliminates the need for isinglass finings by settling and removing particles before fermentation. The beechwood aging process also helps to attract and remove yeast from the brew before the lagering process has ended. This only applies to the beers the company brews itself.

Additional subsidiaries

Anheuser-Busch subsidiaries include:

  • Busch Entertainment Corp. is one of the largest U.S. theme park operators, with ten parks throughout the country including several Busch Gardens and SeaWorld locations.
  • Anheuser-Busch Agricultural Operations: Produces and enhances the incoming quality of raw materials for the company's beers.
  • St. Louis Refrigerated Car Co.: Manages rail/truck transload operation and other properties in St. Louis. This subsidiary was established on February 3, 1878 as Anheuser-Busch's first subsidiary to facilitate large-scale distribution of the company's products via the U.S. rail network as part of A-B's decision to promote Budweiser as a nationwide beer brand.
  • Manufacturers Railway Co.: Provides terminal rail-switching services to south St. Louis industries. Its two trucking subsidiaries provide delivery of cans, bottles and outbound beer for four Anheuser-Busch breweries.
  • Metal Container Corp.: Produces cans and lids for the company's brewing operations as well as for U.S. soft-drink companies.
  • Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corp.: One of the world's largest recyclers of used aluminum beverage containers.
  • Eagle Packaging, Inc.: Provides liner material for both the crowns and closures used in Anheuser-Busch packaging.
  • Busch Properties, Inc.: Operates resort, residential and commercial properties.

Other business relationships

Owens-Illinois supplies glass bottles to many of the Anheuser-Busch breweries around the world including a brand new plant in Windsor, Colorado. Anheuser-Busch bought Longhorn Glass, a former Anchor Hocking Glass plant providing glass for the Houston Brewery, and has partnered with O-I to make glass bottles for A-B in several other cases.

Anheuser-Busch distributes Borba Skin Balance Water, Monster Energy, Lost Energy, Rumba Energy, and Icelandic Glacial spring water.

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals baseball club were owned by Anheuser-Busch from February 20, 1953 until the club was sold to a group of private investors on March 21, 1996. Busch Memorial Stadium, paid for and built by the brewery in the mid-1960s, was recently demolished and replaced by a new ballpark. Anheuser-Busch signed an agreement for the new ballpark to retain the "Busch Stadium" name on the new building through 2025.

Wholesalers and distributors

Anheuser-Busch delivers its products to retailers through a large network of wholesalers and distributors. In the United States, there are about 800 of these; One of the largest is Hensley & Co. in Phoenix, Arizona, with yearly sales of over 20 million cases of Anheuser-Busch beers., and whose chair is Cindy Hensley McCain, the wife of the Republican Presidential nominee for 2008, Senator John McCain of Arizona. The Gaudio family of Illinois hold the longest running wholesalers for Anheuser-Busch, dating back from 1904. Charles Gaudio started an association with Anheuser-Busch as a distributor in a southern Illinois town called Benld. Earl Gaudio, of Danville, IL celebrated 100 years of family ownership with Anheuser-Busch in 2004. He built his wholesaler in 1956. A. Gaudio, Earl's nephew, presides over the Jacksonville, IL distributorship. When he retired from baseball after the the 1968 Season, former New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, Roger Maris was given a distributorship based in Gainesville, FL by August A. Busch, Jr..

Corporate leadership

Dave Peacock is the current President and CEO of Anheuser-Busch. He was appointed by InBev to head the new subsidiary.

A chronology of past corporate leaders (President and CEO) is as follows:

References

  1. "Welcome to Anheuser-Busch." Anheuser-Busch. Retrieved on August 18, 2009.
  2. ^ "Unease Brewing at Anheuser As New Owners Slash Costs". Wall Street Journal. April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  3. InBev Proposes Combination with Anheuser-Busch. Press release. InBev.
  4. ""InBev: U.S. Anheuser Breweries to Stay After Merger". Reuters. The New York Times. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  5. "Anheuser-Busch set to snub InBev and propose own revamp". The Times. 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  6. "InBev pitches buyout bid to Bud shareholders". MSNBC. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |agancy= ignored (help)
  7. "Anheuser-Busch calls InBev takeover bid illegal". Business Week. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-09. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |agancy= ignored (help)
  8. "Anheuser-Busch, Brazilian Belgian firm InBev are brewin' up a merger". New York Daily News. July 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |agancy= ignored (help)
  9. De la Merced, Michael J. nytimes.com, Anheuser-Busch Agrees to Be Sold to InBev. The New York Times. 2008-07-14.
  10. Spain, William; Goldstein, Steve. Anheuser-Busch accepts $52 billion InBev offer. MarketWatch. 2008-07-14.
  11. ^ Cecil McKithan and Stephen Lissandrello (April, 1978), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Anheuser-Busch Brewery (PDF), National Park Service, retrieved 2009-06-22 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) and Template:PDFlink
  12. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  13. ^ "Anheuser-Busch Brewery". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  14. Times Online: Stag Brewery to close with loss of 180 jobs
  15. ^ Grupo Modelo Appoints Anheuser-Busch as the Importer of its Brands in China, Anheuser-Busch Press Release, 2006. Retrieved 2008-3-24.
  16. ^ Anybody Watching Redhook’s Stock…, What's on tap? Newsletter. Retrieved 2008-3-24.
  17. A-B收购哈啤99.77%股份 哈啤将申请暂停股份买卖_商业频道
  18. Listed at Anheuser-Busch.com under "beer brands"
  19. Political Economy Research Institute
  20. Anheuser-Busch Environmental, Health & Safety Report
  21. "NYS Governor's Awards for Pollution Prevention - Anheuser-Busch". Retrieved May 6, 2008
  22. "Anheuser-Busch To Make Green Beer". Retrieved May 6, 2008
  23. ^ "Anheuser-Busch Employees Seeing Green" "Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire" April 11, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008
  24. Anheuser-Busch Environmental Outreach.
  25. Barnivore - Your online drink directory
  26. Vegetarian beers
  27. Anheuser-Busch - Business Units
  28. "Anheuser-Busch Wholesalers – Beer Distributors". Anheuser-Busch. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  29. ^ "About Hensley". Hensley & Co. Retrieved 2008-03-06.

External links

AB InBev
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Principal owners of the St. Louis Cardinals franchise
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