A-B InBev is getting closer to taking control of Modelo

The anti-trust lawsuit filed over Anheuser-Busch InBev's US$20.1bn buy-out of Grupo Modelo has been fully laid to rest after a court allowed the settlement between the companies and the US Department of Justice (DoJ). 

A-B InBev said today (22 April) that the court where the lawsuit was due to be heard has signed the agreement between the groups and the DoJ. The companies announced on Friday details of the settlement with the DoJ, three months after the lawsuit was launched. 

A-B InBev said it expects the transaction to complete in June. 

The deal will also see Constellation Brands buy out Modelo's share in their Crown Imports US sales and distribution JV. Constellation will take the perpetual rights to Modelo's brands in the US and acquire the Mexican brewer's Compañía Cervecera de Coahuila brewery, in Piedras Negras, Mexico. The concessions were agreed in February as a result of the DoJ's anti-trust concerns. 

However, A-B InBev's move for Modelo is still facing a separate lawsuit filed last month by nine individuals seeking to block the move. The complaint claims that the deal would impact consumers through higher prices, “elimination of quality, curtailment of innovation, and destruction of consumer choice”.