AB-InBev sues Illinois Liquor Control Commission after panel rejects bid to buy distributor
By APFriday, March 12, 2010
AB-InBev sues Ill. liquor panel
CHICAGO — Anheuser-Busch InBev has sued the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and its members after the panel rejected the brewer’s attempt to buy a controlling stake in a major distributor in Chicago.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, argues the panel was discriminatory against out-of-state beer producers in its ruling earlier in the day.
The panel rejected the bid by the world’s largest brewer and maker of Budweiser to buy the 70 percent stake it does not own in City Beverage, saying that out-of-state entities cannot make such purchases.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Belgium, was joined in the suit by City Beverage, which is owned by Soave Enterprises of Detroit. The brewer has had a 30 percent stake in the distributor since 2005.
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Illinois, asks that the court prevent the panel from blocking the deal.
