Anheuser shares, options fizz on new merger report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Anheuser-Busch Inc (BUD.N) rose as much as 2.8 percent on Wednesday after CNBC television reported that Belgium's InBev NV INTB.BR was closer to making an unsolicited bid for the top U.S. brewer.

In a report, CNBC said InBev, which makes Stella Artois and Beck's, has gotten enough certainty about financing a $46 billion bid to increase the probability that a bid will be made.

Anheuser declined to comment and a spokesman for InBev could not immediately be reached.

The report also sparked activity in the options market.

"We are starting to see more interest in Anheuser-Busch calls as speculation once again surfaces that InBev is preparing to make a bid for the U.S. brewer," said William Lefkowitz, options strategist at brokerage firm vFinance Investments.

"Even on a down day in the overall market, some option traders are betting Anheuser shares will go up," Lefkowitz said.

Sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters that InBev was close to securing a $50 billion financing package that would enable it to launch a takeover bid for the maker of Budweiser and Michelob.

A source said InBev, the world's second-largest brewer, had held talks with banks JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC) about a financing package.

Media reports first surfaced on May 23 saying InBev -- formed by the 2004 merger of Belgium's Interbrew with Brazil's AmBev -- was working on a takeover offer.