Beer Merger Raises Anti-Trust Concerns For Tammy Baldwin

Sen. Tammy Baldwin said Thursday that there are anti-trust issues raised by the proposed merger of the parent companies of Anheuser Busch and MillerCoors.

MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch InBev account for 70 percent of the U.S. beer market, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The new company formed by the merger could end up controling more than 30 percent of the global beer market.

Baldwin told reporters in Wausau that the proposal will be closely scrutinized by those who quote “worry about monopoly and anti-trust issues.”

“I think it’s probably too big, and in the end you’ll see, if it goes forward, the necessity for both of these large organizations to spin off some of their brands,” said Baldwin. “What I care most deeply about is that we are still brewing a lot of beer in the state of Wisconsin — that Miller remains, that Leinenkugel remains.”

The MillerCoors brewery and corporate offices employ about 1,400 people in Milwaukee.