(Bloomberg) — Anheuser-Busch InBev NV prides itself on penny-pinching. There are no private offices for top brass, no lavish parties, and no high-end hotels like the Four Seasons. Guess where SABMiller Plc executives like to stay when they travel?
The proposed takeover of SABMiller by the brewer of Bud Light, Busch and Rolling Rock has set up a dramatic clash of corporate cultures. AB InBev has a long track record of relentless cost-cutting at companies it acquires, and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito once boasted that he doesn’t “like people at the company to have fun.”
By contrast, working at SABMiller– which makes dozens of brands such as Kozel, Foster’s and Blue Moon — sounds like it can be a blast.
At its headquarters in London’s tony Mayfair district, staffers get an allowance for lunch from local restaurants. The five-star Four Seasons is a hostelry of choice, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s practices. The beer is free at its in-house bar, with gleaming taps serving Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.
AB InBev has experience in transforming relatively cushy corporate cultures — Brito ended the free beer benefit at Anheuser Busch — but there’s a deep gulf in attitudes between it and SABMiller. Should its $100 billion offer succeed, that could lead to an exodus of executives fearful of working under Brito’s watchful gaze at the British brewer, complicating integration efforts…CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT MSN.COM
