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August Busch IV

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This article is about the 5th generation brewing magnate. For other persons, see August Busch (disambiguation).
August Busch IV
Born (1964-06-15) June 15, 1964 (age 60)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation(s)Board Member of Anheuser-Busch InBev, Former President and CEO, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
SpouseKathryn "Kate" Thatcher (2006-2009) divorced
Parent(s)August Busch III and Susan Busch

August Anheuser Busch IV (born June 15, 1964) is the great-great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch, the son of former chairman, president and CEO August Busch III. On December 1, 2006, he succeeded Patrick Stokes, who held the positions of president and CEO of the company since July 2002.[1]

Busch is known by industry insiders as "The Fourth."

Early life

Busch's parents divorced when he was five and he lived with his mother. His time with his father was mostly at the brewery and their relationship was, for the most part, professional.[2]

After graduating in 1982 from Parkway West High School in Ballwin, Missouri, August Busch IV studied as an undergraduate at University of Arizona. He holds both a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in finance from Saint Louis University. He has a brewmaster’s degree from the International Brewing Institute in Berlin.

Anheuser-Busch

Early years

After graduation he followed the family tradition of starting at the bottom of Anheuser-Busch. He worked as a brewing apprentice in the Old Malt House as a union member of Brewers & Maltsters Local 6 in St. Louis, Missouri, as an intern in the Culture Yeast Center, and later as a foreman in packaging and shipping operations.[3]

In 1989 he moved into marketing pushing early on the start of the Bud Dry brand which proved to be unsuccessful. He then worked on updating the image of the company's flagship brand Budweiser brand which had been losing market share launching among other things the Budweiser frogs campaign.

Busch's father initially opposed the campaign; he later admitted "I've lost the ability to understand the 21- to 30-year-olds the way I used to."[3]

He was Group Vice President-Marketing and Wholesale Operations (2000–2002). He was Vice President and Group Executive of the Company and had served in such capacity since 2000.

Chairman and InBev takeover

In 2002 Busch (and other family members) were passed over when the company named Patrick Stokes its first non-family President and CEO.[4] Busch's father had said that he only owns 1% of the stock and that the "Board of Directors calls the shots" at the company.[5]

Busch IV became president and CEO effective December 1, 2006. Busch's father had been criticized for not moving to expand and thus leaving the company open for acquisition. In 2007 August and the directors began discussions to acquire Diageo but the deal never advanced.[6]

As rumors circulated that InBev was attempting to buy the company in April 2008, Mr. Busch told beer distributors that Anheuser-Busch would never be bought "on my watch." Anheuser's stock had closed at $49.20 on April 30, 2008.[7] InBev offered $65/share in June and August refused. In the process began plans to increase its 50 percent share of Grupo Modelo. [6] InBev attempted a work around saying it would not include Augustus in the new company board and instead would include his uncle Adolphus Busch IV who had favored the deal.[8] InBev then sweetened its bid to $70/share and keeping August on the board.[9]

On July 13th, 2008, he signed off on the sale of Anheuser to InBev, ending 156 years of family control.[10] The deal officially closed on November 18, 2008 just as the Late-2000s recession was beginning.

Press reports indicated that the Busch family ownership of the company had greatly dwindled over the years with Busch's father owning only 1.2 percent of the shares at the time of the takeover.[11] The Buschs were not even the company's biggest stockholders. Barclay's owned 6 percent and Berkshire Hathaway owned 5 percent.[12] Further the family did not own supervoting stock as many publicly traded companies with family affiliations. Further, its board of directors had to be re-elected each year rather than being staggered which had been a previous defense against takeovers.

According to reports he and his father August Busch III were estranged and his father engineered the AB takeover blindsiding the son. However the public conflict between father and son led to the higher price.[6] AB gave August IV a title of nonexecutive director and a contract as a consultant that runs through 2014. He attended seven AB meetings in 2009. He was also given a security detail through 2011.[13]

In closing the deal Busch received $10.35 million as a lump sum and started collecting additional fees of about $120,000 a month. [14]

Personal

August A. Busch IV holds advanced black belt degrees in the martial arts disciplines of Judo, Tae-Kwon-Do and Hapkido. Like his grandfather, Gussie Busch, he is a supporter of Democratic Party politics at the local, state, and national level and champions a variety of social causes. Busch, reported as a lean 5-foot-10 inch in 2005 and was described as having a striking resemblance to his father.[11]

Busch married Kathryn "Kate" Thatcher, sixteen years his junior, in August 2006. After residing together for two years in St. Louis County, Missouri, he filed for divorce in November 2008.[15] The couple had no children.

Run-ins with the law

  • 1983 - While attending the University of Arizona, Busch was involved in a car wreck that killed a young woman riding with him in his Corvette.[2][16] According to Tucson police, Busch had left a bar early one morning and wrecked his vehicle while making a sharp turn at high speed. His passenger, a local waitress, flew through the sunroof, and was killed in the accident. Busch walked or crawled from the scene of the accident without informing the police. Police found him at his Tucson townhouse over four miles away by River and Campbell, eight hours later with blood still on his body. Manslaughter charges against Busch were eventually dropped after evidence (blood and urine taken from Busch the day of the accident) was lost or damaged.[3]
  • 1985 - Busch was arrested after leading police on a high-speed car chase as he was returning from a Sauget, Illinois bar. He was accused of intentionally trying to run over two officers with his Mercedes. The officers were in an unmarked police car and the chase ended when they shot out his rear tire. They chased him after he nearly hit a parked car. Busch claimed he thought they were attempting to kidnap him.[2] He was acquitted by a St. Louis jury.[17]
  • 2010 - On December 19, 2010 27-year-old Adrienne Nicole Martin was found dead at his 6,300-square-foot home with 16 rooms set on 4 1/2 wooded acres[13] in the 2800 Block of South Lindbergh Boulevard in Huntleigh, Missouri (38°36′31″N 90°24′15″W / 38.6085650°N 90.4042660°W / 38.6085650; -90.4042660) after household employee Michael Jung[18] called 911 at 1:15 p.m.. Busch's attorney Art Margulis denied that anything suspicious occurred and described the death as "tragic and untimely". Busch was divorced in 2009 and it was unclear if he was in the house at the time. The matter is being investigated by Frontenac, Missouri police rather than Huntleigh although Fronteac police chief Thomas Becker maintained early on there was no There is "no public safety concern regarding the case."[19][20][21] The incident which occurred on a Sunday was not reported in the media until the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported it four days later on a Thursday.[22] Martin, a former Hooters waitress is a divorced mother of one and is reported to have been dating Busch for a year.[13] The initial autopsy was inconclusive and didn't reveal signs of trauma. Police reports said they were initially investigating the case as a drug overdose however Martin's ex-husband, a Cape Girardeau, Missouri physician said Martin suffered from Long QT syndrome that could cause an unexpected sudden death. Martin said he had been personally called by August saying "We also both think the world of August...He is a good man." [23]

Further reading

  • Forbes; March 3, 2006
  • Business Week; November 11, 2002
  • Fortune Magazine; January 13, 1997; "BUD-WEIS-HEIR August Busch IV is rebellious, risk-taking--and (nearly) ready to rule the world's largest brewer". [24]
  • Under the Influence: The Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty, Peter Hernon & Terry Ganey, Avon Books 1992

References

  1. ^ "A Busch Retakes the Reins". The New York Times. Associated Press. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  2. ^ a b c Kosmodel, David, "Anheuser CEO Fight for His Legacy," Wall Street Journal, A1, May 27, 2008
  3. ^ a b c Sellers, Patricia (January 13, 1997). "Bud-Weis-Heir August Busch Iv Is Rebellious, Risk-Taking--And (Nearly) Ready To Rule The World's Largest Brewer". CNN.
  4. ^ "Patrick T. Stokes Profile - Forbes.com". People.forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  5. ^ Sellers, Patricia (1997-01-13). "BUD-WEIS-HEIR AUGUST BUSCH IV IS REBELLIOUS, RISK-TAKING-AND (NEARLY) READY TO RULE THE WORLD'S LARGEST BREWER. - January 13, 1997". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  6. ^ a b c Kesmodel, David (2010-09-29). "New Book Says Busch Family Lost Budweiser Amid Infighting, Missed Deals - Deal Journal - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  7. ^ "Anheuser-Busch Companies - Historical Price Lookup". Phx.corporate-ir.net. 1996-03-26. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  8. ^ "Adolphus Busch IV Responds as InBev Courts A-B Stockholders | ksdk.com | St. Louis, MO". ksdk.com. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  9. ^ "InBev Seen Sweetening On Anheuser". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  10. ^ Kesmodel, David; Cimilluca, Dana; Berman, Dennis (July 15, 2008). "Anheuser Deal Recognizes Its Tough Spot". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ a b Arndorfer, James B. (2005-06-27). "IS HE BUSCH LEAGUE? - Advertising Age - News". Adage.com. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  12. ^ http://todaysadvisor.com/InBev_Bud.aspx
  13. ^ a b c BY TODD C. FRANKEL tfrankel@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8110 (2010-10-27). "For Busch family, woman's death is latest in tragic history". Stltoday.com. Retrieved 2010-12-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Where Did August Busch IV Go?". Wydaily.com. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  15. ^ Deb Peterson (30 January 2009). "After marriage of A-B and InBev, Busch IV filed for divorce". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  16. ^ Beer Blast!, book by Philip Munchen, 1998
  17. ^ Garrison, Chad (2009-01-30). "St. Louis Has Its Playboy Back! - St. Louis News - Daily RFT". Blogs.riverfronttimes.com. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  18. ^ "It's "dark back there:" 911 call from Busch home". Stltoday.com. 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  19. ^ "View source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  20. ^ Pistor, Nick. "Woman found dead in home of August Busch IV". Stltoday.com. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  21. ^ Kesmodel, David. "Woman Found Dead at Home of Former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  22. ^ "Adrienne Nicole Martin Death Investigation Prompts Controversy". News.lalate.com. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  23. ^ "42 minutes passed before 911 call about death at Busch home". Stltoday.com. 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  24. ^ Sellers, Patricia (1997-01-13). "BUD-WEIS-HEIR AUGUST BUSCH IV IS REBELLIOUS, RISK-TAKING-AND (NEARLY) READY TO RULE THE WORLD'S LARGEST BREWER. - January 13, 1997". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-12-24.


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