Dive Summary:
- The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday sued to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev NV from acquiring Mexico's Grupo Modelo SAB.
- AB InBev owns a 50% noncontrolling stake in the company already, but made a deal last summer to buy the company for $20.1 billion.
- The DOJ's position is that deal would hurt beer competition in the U.S. market with Corona Extra and Modelo Especial under the same roof as Budweiser.
From the article:
"... 'If ABI fully owned and controlled Modelo, ABI would be able to increase beer prices to American consumers,' Bill Baer, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said in a statement. 'This lawsuit seeks to prevent ABI from eliminating Modelo as an important competitive force in the beer industry.' ..."