Anheuser board to meet to discuss InBev bid: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc's (BUD.N) board plans to meet in person this week for the first time since rival brewer InBev INTB.BR formally bid $46 billion for the company, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the situation.
In a sign that Anheuser may not unequivocally reject InBev's advances, advisers will focus the board's attention on the valuation of the $65-per-share bid, the paper reported.
If Anheuser signals a willingness to negotiate over price, InBev will need to consider whether to stick with its first offer or boost it in an attempt to seal a deal, the FT said.
Anheuser board members and a spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito refused to say what he would do if Anheuser rejected the takeover offer.
"It's a full price, it's a great price," Brito told Reuters in Washington, D.C., following a meeting with U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, a Missouri Republican who opposes the plan.
Bond and other members of Missouri's congressional delegation ramped up their efforts on Wednesday to thwart the bid.
(Reporting by Robert MacMillan, with additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai in Washington; Editing by Braden Reddall)
