Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has told his government to investigate whether Bud Light’s parent company breached its duties to shareholders as a conservative backlash continues to rage over the beer brand’s deal with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, instructed Lamar Taylor, the interim executive director of the State Board of Administration, to immediately launch a review into “how AB InBev’s conduct has impacted and continues to impact the value of SBA’s AB InBev holdings.”
related investing news
“It appears to me that AB InBev may have breached legal duties owed to its shareholders, and that a shareholder action may be both appropriate and necessary,” DeSantis wrote in a letter tweeted Friday.
“All options are on the table,” he added.
Shares of AB InBev are down more than 2% this year, while the broader market is up.
Sales of Bud Light have plummeted in the wake of conservative uproar and a boycott over the Mulvaney partnership. Last month, the beer lost its top spot in the U.S. beer market to Constellation Brands‘ Modelo Especial, which holds 8.7% of overall beer sales, while Bud Light holds 7%, according to data shared by consulting firm Bump Willams.
The firm also found Bud Light sales are down by about 25% from last year. Amid the boycott, shares for the company fell from $66 a share to $58. DeSantis said Florida had $53 million worth of stock in AB InBev.
“Anheuser-Busch InBev takes our responsibility to our shareholders, employees, distributors and customers seriously,” a spokesperson for the company told CNBC in a statement Friday afternoon.
“We are focused on driving long-term, sustainable growth for them by optimizing our business and providing consumers products to enjoy for any occasion,” the spokesperson said.
DeSantis suggested that the probe could prompt a lawsuit on behalf of the shareholders of Florida’s pension funds. “At the end of the day, there’s got to be penalties…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply