Policy

Feds Resolve Antitrust Concerns over Beer Merger

Not because they realized it was stupid, sadly

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The makers of Budweiser and Corona resolved antitrust concerns over their planned merger by divesting certain subsidiaries, federal officials told the court Friday.

The United States had sued Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo in January to block their planned merger and preserve competition in the nation's $80 billion annual beer market.

InBev, of Belgium, bought St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion in 2008. Anheuser-Busch InBev makes Busch, Budweiser, Michelob and other brands. Grupo Modelo's Corona meanwhile is best-selling imported beer in the United States. Together, they control 46 percent of the U.S. beer market.