As it turns out, the descendants of Adolphus Busch didn’t have much of a choice. In June 2008, Belgian-Brazilian brewing company InBev offered to buy the business for $46 billion in an effort to consolidate four of the world’s largest beer companies under one roof.

Most members of the Busch family, who had been at the helm for over 150 years, vehemently opposed the takeover, but given that they owned less than five percent of shares at the time, they were unable to block the sale.

Still, Anheuser-Busch rejected InBev’s initial proposal, later striking a deal for $70 per share in July 2008. InBev became Anheuser-Busch InBev (commonly referred to as AB InBev), and its brand portfolio currently includes Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Goose Island, among other popular labels.