NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Negotiations between
Anheuser-Busch InBev and the U.S. Department of Justice
are moving them closer to a settlement over the brewer’s planned
purchase of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, said two
sources familiar with the matter.
Talks between the parties are progressing, the sources said,
noting that it was still too early to say whether the U.S.
government will accept the new deal, which was revised on Feb.
14 to address the government’s antitrust concerns.
One source pointed out that the big concession – the sale to
Constellation Brands of a Modelo brewery that supplies
the U.S. market – is similar to the one made in 2009 when InBev
sold Labbatt USA to clear its $52 billion takeover of
Anheuser-Busch.
A spokesman for AB InBev declined to comment on the
proceedings. A DOJ official was not immediately available.
AB InBev announced a revised deal on Feb. 14 to address the
concerns that led the government to sue to block the deal two
weeks prior. In addition to the sale of the Piedras Negras
brewery, the new deal gives Constellation perpetual rights for
Corona and other Modelo brands in the United States.
Late on Friday, a federal judge agreed to delay the
government’s lawsuit after the parties asked for time to conduct
settlement talks.
