BUSINESS BRIEFS
Anheuser-Busch likely to agree to InBev buyout
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — After weeks of public bickering, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.'s board is likely to accept a sweetened buyout offer from the Belgian-based brewer InBev SA as early as this weekend, a published report said.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that InBev has boosted its takeover offer for the St. Louis-based maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers by $5 a share to $70. It said one person it did not identify by name said the Anheuser-Busch board is likely to accept the offer this weekend.
An earlier New York Times report, also citing unnamed sources, said talks have become friendly. The Times also said yesterday that a person close to the talks said Inbev had raised its offer to $70 a share. It said an announcement of a deal could come as early as Monday.
A deal would be a stunning turnaround from the often heated rhetoric between the two companies over the past several days.
HARLEY BUYING ITALIAN CYCLE FIRM
MILWAUKEE — Harley-Davidson Inc. said yesterday it will buy Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group for about $109 million to boost its presence in Europe, giving it entry into the popular performance bike market there.
MV Agusta makes a line of premium sport motorcycles under its name brand and a line of lightweight motorcycles under the Cagiva brand.
The deal will help Harley-Davidson expand into the European market as sales slump in the U.S., where consumers are pulling back on spending.
Performance, or sport, bikes account for about 80 percent of sales in Europe, Harley-Davidson Chief Executive Jim Ziemer said. Harley-Davidson's sales there have been growing in the double digits for the past three years, and the company now has nearly 10 percent of that market.
The MV Agusta acquisition gives Harley-Davidson a chance to go after European sport motorcycle riders, who tend to be younger than U.S. motorcycle riders, Ziemer said.
Shares of Harley-Davidson fell 37 cents, or 1.1 percent, to close at $33.33 yesterday. The stock dropped to a 52-week low of $32.33 earlier in the day. It has traded as high as $62.99 in the past 52 weeks.
The deal is expected to close in several weeks. It will paid for through euro-denominated debt, Harley-Davidson said.
The purchase price includes Harley-Davidson assuming MV Agusta's existing bank debt of about $70 million.
REGULATORS SEIZE INDYMAC BANK
LOS ANGELES — IndyMac Bank's assets were seized by federal regulators yesterday after the mortgage lender succumbed to the pressures of tighter credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures.
The bank is the largest regulated thrift to fail and the second largest financial institution to close in U.S. history, regulators said.
The Office of Thrift Supervision said it transferred IndyMac's operations to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation because it did not think the lender could meet its depositors' demands.
IndyMac customers with funds in the bank were limited to taking out money via automated teller machines over the weekend, debit card transactions or checks, regulators said.
MAY TRADE DEFICIT NARROWS BIG GAP
WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May as exports — including industrial supplies and consumer goods — climbed to all-time highs.
The latest snapshot of trade activity, reported by the Commerce Department yesterday, showed that the nation's trade gap, thanks largely to the declining dollar, decreased to $59.8 billion. That was down 1.2 percent from April's trade deficit and was the best showing since March.
The improvement came even as imports — including crude oil — hit record highs.
The trade deficit narrowed in May because exports grew faster than imports.
