InBev prods Anheuser-Busch board to respond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - InBev NV lightly prodded its takeover target Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc on Wednesday to respond to its unsolicited $46.3 billion bid and gave further details on its proposed financing.

It has been two weeks since the Belgian-Brazilian brewer launched its bid for the largest U.S. brewer but the maker of Budweiser and Michelob beers has yet to respond. The proposed takeover would create the world's largest brewer, surpassing London-based SABMiller.

In his third letter to Anheuser Chief Executive August Busch IV, InBev CEO Carlos Brito said his company remains available to discuss its $65-per-share offer, but "time is of the essence."

Brito also said InBev has received commitment letters for the financing for the deal and has paid $50 million in commitment fees to a 10-bank lending group made up of Banco Santander, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Fortis, ING Bank, JP Morgan, Mizuho Corporate Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.

When InBev launched its bid on June 11, it said it had "strong support" from a group of eight banks. The list then did not include Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi or Mizuho Corporate Bank. InBev did not explain the addition of the two Japanese banks.

Warren Chen, managing director of mergers and acquisitions research for proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis, said InBev could have broadened its syndicate to further spread the risk.

WEEKS? MONTHS?

InBev's offer does not include any formal deadline within which Anheuser must respond. However, analysts have said that if Anheuser puts off negotiations for too long, InBev may just take its offer directly to shareholders in a hostile bid.

That could be bad for Anheuser, analysts have said, since InBev's bid would give shareholders a significant premium that Anheuser would have trouble matching on its own.

Sixty-five dollars a share is 24 percent higher than the stock's closing price the day before reports that InBev was working on a bid surfaced, and 35 percent higher than the average share price over the preceding month.

Anheuser has said it will respond to InBev "in due course."

With such heavy media coverage and Busch family members throwing their support to different sides of the situation, Chen said the board would probably respond "soon," though he declined to predict a specific time frame.

However, citing Microsoft Corp's ongoing struggle to take over Yahoo Inc, Chen said the entire process could take months.

EYES ON OMAHA

In the meantime, many have wondered what billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway is Anheuser's second-largest shareholder, thinks of the bid.

Buffett told Reuters on Wednesday that -- contrary to media reports that he supports the bid -- he has not met with either side's management and has not thrown his support either way.

"The interesting thing is that I have not commented on that, although people have run stories on what I have done," Buffett said in an interview. "Maybe they're confusing me with (singer) Jimmy Buffett."

Anheuser shares closed at $61.76 on the New York Stock Exchange, up 1 percent.

(Additional reporting by Lilla Zuill)

(Editing by Gary Hill)