The US DOJ sues to block merger between two leading brewers (AB InBev / Grupo Modelo)

The Department of Justice ("DOJ") has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit challenging the $20 billion proposed acquisition by Anheuser-Bush InBev ("ABI") of the remaining 50 percent interest in Grupo Modelo S.A.B. de C.V. ("Modelo"), the producer of Corona Extra, the best-selling imported beer in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that the transaction would not only eliminate head-to-head competition, resulting in increased prices and less innovation, but also would remove Modelo as a disruptive pricing influence in the overall marketplace. The DOJ rejected ABI's attempt to resolve the DOJ's concerns through a voluntary supply agreement, which would have allowed Modelo's existing joint venture partner in the U.S., Constellation, to gain exclusive control over the import of Modelo beer into