US demands details of giant beer takeover: InBev

US competition authorities have demanded extra details from Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev regarding its planned takeover of US rival Anheuser-Busch, the Belgium-based company said.

InBev promised to respond "expeditiously" to the call from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over the 52-billion-dollar (36-billion-euro) takeover.

It would create the world's largest beer company and one of the top five consumer goods groups in the world.

"This request for additional information from the DOJ is a normal and expected part of the regulatory process," the company said in a statement released late Monday.

"InBev remains confident that the transaction will receive regulatory approval and continues to expect to close the transaction by the end of this year."

Officials in Missouri, the home state of Anheuser-Busch, had opposed the sale to the Belgian-based firm, claiming the 150-year-old American icon, maker of Budweiser beer, would be lost to foreign investors.

(Published by AFP - august 19, 2008)