Lawmakers vow to fight InBev-Anheuser deal

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. lawmakers ramped up their effort to thwart Belgian brewer InBev's INTB.BR $46.3 billion (23.6 billion pound) offer for Anheuser-Busch Cos BUD.N, saying on Wednesday that it would lead to U.S. job losses and destroy an American icon.

After meeting with InBev's chief executive, Sen. Christopher Bond, a Republican, issued a statement saying, "My Missouri constituents say, 'This Bud's not for you'."

InBev CEO Carlos Brito has said he wants a friendly deal and vowed to keep the home of Budweiser, America's 'King of Beers,' in St. Louis. He also hired several Washington lobbying firms including one headed by former Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

"When you hear promises, St. Louis has had bad experiences having promises turning into pink slips," Bond, a Republican, told Reuters.

Missouri's other U.S. senator, Democrat Claire McCaskill, sent a letter to Anheuser's board of directors on Wednesday. She urged them to reject the deal and consider what the brewer represents to her state and the country.

U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Democrat from Missouri, called Anheuser-Busch an American icon and said it is consistently ranked one of the top U.S. companies.

"It would be very shortsighted for the board or shareholders to accept short-term stock values at the expense of the long-term benefit of the company," Carnahan said.

Although Anheuser-Busch dominates the U.S. beer market, InBev, the maker of Beck's and Stella Artois, is a minor U.S. player. Because of this, antitrust experts said that they did not expect the deal to be challenged by the Justice Department.