InBev close to deal on Bud brewer: report

(Reuters) - U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc is in active talks to sell itself to Belgian brewer InBev NV in a friendly deal, the New York Times said on its website, citing people briefed on the matter.

One source told the paper that InBev had indicated it would be willing to pay more than the $65 a share it had originally offered.

However, people briefed on the deal cautioned that the talks might still break down, the paper said.

InBev shares were up 5.0 percent at 43.52 euros at 5:45 a.m. EDT, compared with a 0.2 percent gain of the DJ Stoxx European food and beverage index.

Traders said indications the two companies were finally talking was a positive sign, suggesting a friendly bid could be reached and months of protracted battling avoided, even if InBev ended up paying more.

Helping to drive the deal talks was the indication that some of Anheuser's largest shareholders, including billionaire investor Warren Buffett, were leaning toward backing a deal with InBev, the newspaper said.

Since InBev made its original $46.3 billion, $65-a-share bid for Anheuser in June, the two sides have been publicly at loggerheads.

Both companies have approached the courts, with the Belgian brewer looking to oust Anheuser's board, while the American firm has called InBev's takeover attempt an "illegal plan and scheme" to acquire it at a bargain price.

InBev declined to comment on the report. No one could immediately be reached at Anheuser-Busch.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Will Waterman and Quentin Bryar)