Beer Buyout Battle Spills To the Hill

Bond was harshly direct: "My Missouri constituents say, 'This Bud's not for you.' "

At another Capitol Hill session, St. Louis congressman Todd Akin (R) cautioned Brito that Anheuser-Busch played a unique role in its home city. "I said, 'It's not just a corporate citizen in the St. Louis community; it's an institution,' " Akin said. "Anything that would disrupt that relationship would be viewed as unacceptable."

Anheuser-Busch has also played a significant role in Washington. The company has for decades boasted one of the capital's most active lobbying offices and has kept on retainer about a dozen outside lobbying firms. Among these are Gephardt Group, led by former longtime St. Louis congressman and Democratic House leader Richard A. Gephardt; Public Strategies Washington, which includes former White House press secretary Michael McCurry; Timmons & Co., the city's oldest lobbying firm; and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the District's second-largest lobbying and law firm.

Anheuser-Busch's political action committee is one of Washington's larger pools of money available for donation to candidates.

Although InBev has grown through acquisitions into one of the world's biggest beer producers, it is much newer to Washington. In recent weeks, it hired four of the capital's highest-profile lobbying and public relations firms to assist with its takeover attempt. These include the new lobbying firm set up by former senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and John Breaux (D-La.); Glover Park Group, which includes former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart; and the lobbying firm Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart, which arranged Brito's visits on Capitol Hill.

In addition, InBev's team includes Mercury Public Affairs, which is contacting local politicians across the nation to explain why the company wants to take over Anheuser-Bush. Brunswick Group, a large communications firm, is coordinating the effort.

"We understand that Anheuser-Busch is an American icon," said Steven Lipin of Brunswick. "InBev is committed to fully explaining its strategy for growth and its preservation of the Anheuser-Busch heritage to all stakeholders involved in the potential combination, and the meetings in Washington were part of that process."

Anheuser-Busch is pressing the case that it can improve its worth to shareholders without being sold and that InBev's offer was too low. Anheuser said yesterday that it planned to cut as much as $1 billion in annual costs, in part by offering early retirement packages to as many as 1,290 workers, and that it would increase its planned buyback of shares to bolster its stock price.

"We are focused on educating lawmakers on the reasons supporting the board's decision," said Gary L. Rutledge, vice president for legal and government affairs at Anheuser-Busch. "Anheuser-Busch has for many years maintained a significant presence in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals throughout the country, and we are well-prepared to effectively represent the interests of the company and its shareholders on this issue."