[theDarkSide]

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/16/news/companies/sabmiller-anheuser-busch-takeover/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

[Stevie]

What happens to SABMillers joint venture with Molson Coors?

[theDarkSide]

The article mentions they may pick up some brands from the merger.

[dmtaylor]

If this goes through, I guess they'll really have the monopoly now on what is mostly very mediocre beer.  I'll reserve my congratulations for later.

[pete b]

Then that conglomerate will get bought by someone else. Maybe Kraft or Monsanto.

[sambates]

What's funny is that they used a bottle opener for a twist off bottle in the video...oh brother

[HoosierBrew]

If this goes through, I guess they'll really have the monopoly now on what is mostly very mediocre beer.  I'll reserve my congratulations for later.

Yep. And they'll have even more working capital to buy up more craft breweries. Aside from all the extra sh!**y beer.

[homoeccentricus]

I can see the AHA HQ move to Brussels in due course.

[dmtaylor]

Aren't there laws against monopolization?  For when survival of the fittest one is less desirable than survival of the fittest several?  I know nothing about this but seem to recall such a thing.

[pete b]

Aren't there laws against monopolization? 

Apparently none that have been enforced for the last 30-35 years of our plutocracy.

[kramerog]

Aren't there laws against monopolization?  For when survival of the fittest one is less desirable than survival of the fittest several?  I know nothing about this but seem to recall such a thing.

In the US, that is called antitrust.  In Europe that is called competition law.  I can't see how this merger would be allowed to happen without divesting some major brands and some breweries in the US.  I'm not sure how dominant the these companies are in other countries, but I believe Heineken is independent of these two, so I'm not sure what would happen in Europe and other parts of the world.

If I was a beer distributor, I'd be freaking out.

[Slowbrew]

Aren't there laws against monopolization?  For when survival of the fittest one is less desirable than survival of the fittest several?  I know nothing about this but seem to recall such a thing.

In the US, that is called antitrust.  In Europe that is called competition law.  I can't see how this merger would be allowed to happen without divesting some major brands and some breweries in the US.  I'm not sure how dominant the these companies are in other countries, but I believe Heineken is independent of these two, so I'm not sure what would happen in Europe and other parts of the world.

If I was a beer distributor, I'd be freaking out.

Distribution will be next in line for consolidation.  Some will have to survive due to the 3 tier system in many states.  I can see the day when all of today's major distributors are reduced to one per major area.  As far as I can tell Des Moines already only has 2 or 3.  It has caused many problems from what I've heard for the craft brewers here.  One major one being the restrictions on growler sales which technically have to go through the 3 tier system for customers to take them home.  This may have been fixed but I haven't checked in a long time.

At one time several breweries downtown couldn't get any distributor to deal with them since the volume was too small to be worth the time.  With only one in a given area it would be even worse.

Paul

[Thirsty_Monk]

I am not concerned what bankers are doing. I am more concerned about supply chains.

[tommymorris]

I make my own beer

[denny]

I read a financial analysis of this deal today.  Apparently, the domestic market is slipping away from them and they see Africa as a way to compensate for that.  People there are moving from homebrewing (nothing like what we do!) into buying beer and by owning SAB they can capitalize in that.