InBev, the Belgian brewer behind Stella Artois and Beck's beers, was poised to win control of Anheuser-Busch (AB) last night after lifting its offer for the Budweiser maker to about $50 billion (£25.1 billion).

Although neither side would comment, the offer, which has been raised from $65 a share to $70, is understood to have persuaded Anheuser-Busch to abandon its hostile stance and enter negotiations with InBev over a recommended offer. An announcement could come as early as tomorrow.

InBev is said to have persuaded the banks supporting its offer to lift the debt funding package from $40 billion to $45 billion. It is asking its main bankers for commitments of $1.75 billion each, in return for the high pricing and fees and a rapid refinancing strategy. Including the assumption of Anheuser-Busch's debt of $9.1 billion, the offer is worth almost $60 billion.

The start of talks comes after a month of increasingly antagonistic relations. AB rejected the opening $47 billion gambit as “financially inadequate”, prompting InBev to take legal steps to remove the American brewer's entire board of 13 directors.

AB responded this week by threatening to take legal action against its Belgian suitor, claiming it had launched its hostile bid based on “numerous false and misleading statements” about how the deal would be financed and how the company would be run after the acquisition.

August Busch IV, the chief executive and descendant of the 156-year-old company's founder, had vowed to fend off InBev's attentions. However, analysts said that with the Busch family speaking for less than 4 per cent of the shares, Mr Busch could leave himself open to legal action in the event of a raised offer.

Kris Kippers, an analyst at Petercam, a Belgian broker, said it would be hard for AB to walk away from the improved offer, which he believed represented a good deal.

In the event of a successful takeover, InBev has said it would turn Budweiser into its flagship beer and that the name of the combined company would evoke the Anheuser-Busch heritage. Its headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, would become the home of the enlarged group's North American division.

InBev wants to acquire AB for its 48.5 per cent share of the American beer market, the world's largest in terms of profits. It would also help it to boost its presence in China, the largest beer market by volume.

InBev said the combined company would be one of the top five consumer products companies in the world, with global beer volumes of 460 million hectolitres, net sales of $36.4 billion and underlying earnings of $10.7 billion. Analysts estimate the synergies of the companies at between $900 million and $1.3 billion.

The two companies already work together in America under an agreement whereby the US brewer distributes some of its Belgian rival's brands, including Beck's, Bass and Stella Artois.

The putative deal comes at a time of continuing consolidation among the big brewers. In January, Carlsberg and Heineken sealed a £10 billion-plus takeover of Scottish & Newcastle, which owns Kronenbourg and John Smith's brands.

They have now carved the company up between them, with Heineken taking control of the British business, making it the UK's biggest brewer. In America, SABMiller and Molson Coors have just completed a $10 billion merger of their respective US operations in a deal that creates $500 million of cost and operating synergies.

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