Anheuser-Busch seen buying time as board gathers

By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD.N) may play for time as its board meets formally for the first time since receiving a $46.3 billion (23.5 billion pound) takeover bid from Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev INTB.BR.

Analysts have said the Budweiser brewer is unlikely to embrace the proposal, which would create the world's largest beer maker, but Anheuser may also decide not to reject it outright at a meeting that is due to be held within the next 48 hours, industry experts said.

Instead the St. Louis-based brewer is likely to suggest that the bid, which sparked an outcry from some U.S. politicians and led InBev to hire Washington lobbyists, undervalues the company, analysts have said.

"I suspect that they (the board) will say that the offer is too low and that they are looking at options to create better value to get to a higher number," said Harry Schuhmacher, publisher of Beer Business Daily. "They won't reject the offer ... but they'll signal that it's too low."

InBev, the world's second-largest brewer with brands including Beck's, Stella Artois and Bass, was formed by the 2004 merger of Belgium's Interbrew with Brazil's AmBev. It is based in Belgium, but run by Brazilian managers who have a reputation for aggressive cost-cutting.

It was not immediately clear whether the Anheuser board had already gathered. A company spokeswoman declined to say whether the meeting had begun on Thursday or was due to start on Friday.

Anheuser-Busch, which owns the world's best-selling beer, Bud Light, and controls nearly half the U.S. beer market, has remained tight-lipped about the bid, which threatens to cap nearly 150 years of independence.

In a statement, Anheuser Chief Financial Officer W. Randolph Baker said the company's inability to comment "should not be interpreted as support for, or opposition to the proposal...