Book description
How the King of Beers collapsed without a fight and what it means for
America's place in the post-Recession world
How did InBev, a Belgian company controlled by Brazilians, take over
one of America's most beloved brands with scarcely a whimper of
opposition? Chalk it up to perfect timing-and some unexpected help
from powerful members of the Busch dynasty, the very family that had
run the company for more than a century. In Dethroning the
King, Julie MacIntosh, the award-winning financial journalist who
led coverage of the takeover for the Financial Times, details
how the drama that unfolded at Anheuser-Busch in 2008 went largely
unreported as the world tumbled into a global economic crisis second
only to the Great Depression. Today, as the dust settles, questions
are being asked about how the "King of Beers" was so easily
captured by a foreign corporation, and whether the company's fall
mirrors America's dwindling financial and political dominance as a nation.
- Discusses how the takeover of Anheuser-Busch will be seen as a
defining moment in U. S. business history
- Reveals the critical missteps taken by the Busch family and the
Anheuser-Busch board
- Argues that Anheuser-Busch had a chance to save itself from
InBev's clutches, but infighting and dysfunctionality behind the
scenes forced it to capitulate
From America's heartland to the European continent to Brazil,
Dethroning the King is the ultimate corporate caper and a
fascinating case study that's both wide reaching and profound.
Julie MacIntosh, an award-winning financial
journalist, led the Financial Times's coverage of the takeover of
Anheuser-Busch as its U. S. Mergers and Acquisitions Correspondent.
She also covered the near-collapse of the global banking system while
on the mergers beat and, before that, wrote for the newspaper's
influential "Lex" column. Prior to joining the Financial
Times, she spent six years as a reporter and correspondent for Reuters
and, in 2003, was named one of NewsBios's "Top 30 Business
Journalists Under 30." She regularly appears on CNBC and MSNBC.
