Bob Kelley

Bob Kelley serves as region vice president for Anheuser-Busch and oversees sales operations in Kentucky.

Pardon the pun, but there’s a controversy brewing in Kentucky, reported on recently by this newspaper (“Beer Wars Come to Kentucky”), in which some folks are asking the government to block a private transaction between two businesses. I work for a beer company trying to purchase a Western Kentucky business – a transaction in full compliance with state law. Delaying it only hurts two Kentucky companies complying with the law.

Since Prohibition ended, a three-tiered system has existed for selling alcoholic beverages. Brewers, like Anheuser-Busch, work with distributors, like Budweiser of Owensboro – the company we seek to purchase – to get the product to retailers, who then sell to customers.

Anheuser-Busch happily participates in this system. What differentiates us from many competitors is that we are also in the distribution business. We own 17 of the 500 Anheuser-Busch distributors in America, including in Louisville, where we own our distributor alongside five competitors. Competition is robust.

Anheuser-Busch has bought and sold distribution businesses for more than 100 years, while consumer choices have exploded. This is quite evident in Kentucky as craft brewers and brands have significantly increased since we purchased our Louisville distributor in 1978, after Kentucky’s courts confirmed our right to do so. In no way has our ownership stifled craft beer distribution; in fact, Louisville’s mayor recently said the city’s craft beer market was “red hot.”

For nearly four decades, Anheuser-Busch has been a major Kentucky employer and economic contributor. While it is true we were acquired by InBev in 2008, we are an American subsidiary with 14 local breweries, 17 distributorships and 23 agricultural and packaging facilities across the United States, representing a capital investment of $15.5 billion. We are a good corporate citizen, providing well-paying jobs, paying taxes and supporting the communities where we operate. Our corporate citizenship includes sponsoring several of Kentucky’s best-known events.

I was shocked to read that a Northern Kentucky distributor (Seligman Distributing) went on record in this paper arguing that a “foreign company” like Anheuser-Busch ought to be disallowed from participating in Kentucky’s economy. I wonder what the workers at Toyota in Georgetown thought when they read that? Or the Kentuckians who work for Suntory, the Japanese company that owns Jim Beam? According to state government statistics, there are 434 foreign-owned facilities in Kentucky employing 85,370 people. It’s hard to believe that some beer wholesalers would run them out of the state, but I suppose self-interest trumps the greater good for some people.

Those lobbing reckless attacks against thousands of Kentucky jobs are trying to block our legal and proper transaction for their own self-interest. Regardless of their misguided rhetoric, many independent distributors in Kentucky do support our deal.

Our transaction has been approved by Owensboro officials and we now await state approval, which is normally a formality. We hope backroom political shenanigans aren’t tainting what ought to be a routine business transaction. No taxpayer dollars should be wasted on further delays and baseless proceedings that benefit only those who seek to further their own self-interests.

Anheuser-Busch is not asking for any special government exemptions or changes to current law, which has permitted brewer ownership for decades. We just want to complete this transaction under the rules.

Anheuser-Busch remains committed to delivering excellent products, and the existing system allows for robust competition and access to market for all competitors. This all boils down to one question: Should self-interested parties be allowed to obstruct a private transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer? Of course not.