AB InBev Acquires Samson Brewery in České Budějovice

On July 2, 2014, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that it had acquired the operating Samson brewery in České Budějovice, the Czech city historically known in German as Budweis. The transaction completed a process that had begun in 2011, when AB InBev acquired the brewery’s predecessor company and associated trademarks, while the production brewery itself remained under separate ownership. Samson traced its brewing lineage to the Budweis Citizens’ Brewery established in 1795. The 2014 acquisition gave AB InBev control of a historic brewery in Budweis while it remained engaged in international trademark disputes with the Czech state-owned Budweiser Budvar brewery. AB InBev stated that the purchase strengthened its legal position regarding the Budweiser name, although the acquisition did not resolve the competing international trademark and geographical claims.