OREANDA-NEWS. Anheuser-Busch InBev (Euronext: ABI)(NYSE: BUD) confirmed that it has filed a memorandum with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in support of Constellation Brands, Inc. ("Constellation") and Crown Import LLC's ("Crown") Motion to Intervene as parties to the antitrust complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (the "DOJ") on January 31. Grupo Modelo, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: GMODELOC) has joined in the filing. This filing is in connection with AB InBev's pending transaction to acquire the remaining shares in Modelo that it does not already own.

Constellation and Crown are asking the Court to be joined to the DOJ lawsuit as parties to protect their rights and support the transaction. AB InBev and Modelo support Constellation and Crown's entry into the case and welcome their participation in contesting the DOJ's allegations. Today's memorandum also confirms that AB InBev and Crown are strong competitors in the U.S. beer marketplace and will remain so after the proposed transaction.

In addition, the memorandum explains that the proper legal standard for the DOJ's case requires evaluation of the net effect of the two transactions. As Constellation and Crown point out in their motion, the net effect is a more effective and competitive Crown.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with an American Depositary Receipt secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). It is the leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies. Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people together for thousands of years and our portfolio of well over 200 beer brands continues to forge strong connections with consumers. We invest the majority of our brand-building resources on our Focus Brands - those with the greatest growth potential such as global brands Budweiser®, Stella Artois® and Beck's®, alongside Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Bud Light®, Skol®, Brahma®, Antarctica®, Quilmes®, Michelob Ultra®, Harbin®, Sedrin®, Klinskoye®, Sibirskaya Korona®, Chernigivske®, Hasseroder® and Jupiler®. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidiary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer and owner of the global Corona® brand. AB InBev's dedication to heritage and quality originates from the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium dating back to 1366 and the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery, with origins in St. Louis, USA since 1852. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, AB InBev leverages the collective strengths of its approximately 116,000 employees based in 23 countries worldwide. In 2011, AB InBev realized 39.0 billion USD revenue.