August Busch IV does not seek re-election to AB-InBev’s board
Adieu, then, August Busch. At the end of March 2011, AB-InBev said that August Busch IV will step down as a director at AB-InBev in April, which brings the Busch family’s formal involvement in the brewing giant to a close.
Mr. Busch was CEO of Anheuser-Busch, when the largest brewer in the U.S. was taken over by InBev for USD 52 billion in 2008. Although he had tried to avoid a takeover, he was named a director of the newly formed company AB-InBev.
Even then, many industry observers thought Mr. Busch’s appointment to the board was largely ceremonial.
As if to keep up appearances, a much-quoted email statement from AB-InBev dated 28 March 2011 said that “for personal and health reasons, August Busch IV has decided not to seek re-election” at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on 26 April 2011, to be held in Leuven, where AB-InBev is headquartered.
The 46-year-old Mr. Busch returned to the news late last year when his girlfriend, Adrienne Martin, died of an accidental drug overdose. No charges were filed. The county prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, said Mr. Busch refused to cooperate with the investigation after making an initial statement to police.
Mr. Busch told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in January that he was distraught over his girlfriend’s death, and that he had battled depression and "other issues" since the InBev acquisition. "I would have given up my life to save the company," said Mr. Busch. According to Mary Macintosh, the author of “Dethroning the King” he had tried to combine Anheuser with Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo to block the InBev deal.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Busch had little involvement in the newly created company, attending just one of the meetings of the board in 2010, according to public filings. AB-InBev’s board met at least nine times last year, according to those filings.
It added that Mr. Busch is one of three directors who will step down at AB-InBev as their terms expire. Two will be replaced, giving the company a total of 12 directors.
