Lawmakers vow to fight InBev-Anheuser deal

Bud Light and Budweiser beer is shown in a cooler at the Toluca Mart liquor store in Los Angeles, California June 16, 2008.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. lawmakers ramped up their effort to thwart Belgian brewer InBev NV's INTB.BR $46.3 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD.N), saying on Wednesday that it would lead to U.S. job losses and destroy an American icon.

After meeting with InBev's chief executive, Sen. Christopher Bond, a Republican, issued a statement saying, "My Missouri constituents say, 'This Bud's not for you'."

InBev CEO Carlos Brito has said he wants a friendly deal and vowed to keep the home of Budweiser, America's 'King of Beers,' in St. Louis. He also hired several Washington lobbying firms including one headed by former Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

"When you hear promises, St. Louis has had bad experiences having promises turning into pink slips," Bond, a Republican, told Reuters.

Missouri's other U.S. senator, Democrat Claire McCaskill, sent a letter to Anheuser's board of directors on Wednesday. She urged them to reject the deal and consider what the brewer represents to her state and the country.

U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Democrat from Missouri, called Anheuser-Busch an American icon and said it is consistently ranked one of the top U.S. companies.

"It would be very shortsighted for the board or shareholders to accept short-term stock values at the expense of the long-term benefit of the company," Carnahan said.

Although Anheuser-Busch dominates the U.S. beer market, InBev, the maker of Beck's and Stella Artois, is a minor U.S. player. Because of this, antitrust experts said that they did not expect the deal to be challenged by the Justice Department.

The U.S. Congress has no real power to stop a corporate merger. But InBev has hired additional Washington lobbying firms to try and defuse political opposition.

In addition to the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group, which is also run by former Louisiana Democratic senator John Breaux, InBev has hired the Glover Park Group, Johnson Madigan, Mercury Public Affairs and Brunswick Group, according to one source familiar with the matter.

The Missouri lawmakers' criticism is to be expected, one expert said.

"There is a knee-jerk reaction to a foreign acquisition of what some might consider an American icon. But the very same things are happening overseas to French icons, to German icons," said Nancy McLernon, senior vice president with Organization for International Investment, an industry group representing foreign companies.

"It's important that they (InBev) engage in an effort to educate (lawmakers) and the public on what this acquisition will mean in terms of an economic impact and how it will impact the beer," McLernon added.

After meeting with Bond, InBev's Brito refused to say whether his firm was prepared to walk away from the deal if Anheuser-Busch rejected the takeover offer of $65 per share.

"We are trying to engage with the board," Brito told Reuters.

A deal would bring InBev, with its operations in Western Europe, Brazil and Canada, together with Anheuser's businesses in the United States, Mexico and China. It would also fuse the second- and fourth-largest brewers to overtake world leader SABMiller Plc (SAB.L).

Shares of Anheuser closed up 1 percent at $61.90 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Some reports have suggested Anheuser-Busch is looking at a possible link with Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX) in which it owns a 50.2 percent stake, to help thwart the InBev bid.

(Editing by Andre Grenon/Jeffrey Benkoe/Leslie Gevirtz)