Big is, increasingly, beautiful in the world of brewing. InBev's bid for Anheuser-Busch, worth more than $60 billion (£30.2 billion) including the assumption of debt, follows hot on the heels of the £10 billion takeover of Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) by Carlsberg and Heineken, while SABMiller and Molson Coors have just completed a $10 billion merger of their American operations.

What credit crunch? InBev revealed that it had persuaded ten leading banks to lend a huge $45 billion debt package. The group, created from the merger of Interbrew, of Belgium, and AmBev, of Brazil, alluded to one reason why the banks were so willing to lend such a large amount when it said: “Rapid de-leveraging of the balance sheet is expected through strong free cashflow generation.”

Another factor in InBev's ability to raise money is the predicted $1.5 billion of cost synergies - high, considering the lack of geographical overlap of the two and the insistence by Carlos Brito, InBev's chief executive, that he would not close any of AB's American breweries (for now). Mr Brito has a fearsome reputation for cost-cutting. AB employees should brace themselves for a severe culture shock.

But this deal is not all about cutting costs. It isn't even all about grabbing AB's near-50 per cent share of the US beer market. It is more about seizing an iconic brand that, thanks to AB's unwillingness - or inability - to be mixed up in the brewing consolidation, has failed to live up to its global aspirations.

The AB deal is as much about widening distribution of key brands as it is about reducing costs and better purchasing. Mr Brito may have the reputation as the prince of cost-cutting, but he needs to back up Budweiser's claim to be King of Beers.

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