Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), Leuven, Belgium, will acquire the remaining stake in Grupo Modelo, Mexico City, for $20.1 billion. The combined company would lead the global beer industry with roughly 400 million hectoliters of beer volume annually and 2012 estimated revenues of $47 billion, AB InBev noted in a statement. Tangentially, Constellation Brands Inc., Victor, N.Y., which in a joint venture with Grupo Modelo currently owns 50 percent of Crown Imports LLC, Chicago, signed an agreement with AB InBev to purchase the remaining 50 percent interest in Crown for $1.85 billion.

Constellation Brands Inc., Victor, N.Y., completed its acquisition of the Mark West wine brand from Purple Wine Co. LLC for approximately $160 million.

On Jan. 31, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Washington, D.C., filed a civil antitrust lawsuit challenging Leuven, Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) proposed acquisition of total ownership and control of Grupo Modelo, Mexico City. 

Svedka Vodka, an import brand of Victor, N.Y.-based Constellation Brands, will launch a national integrated marketing campaign featuring outdoor, digital, social, print and experiential activations this month. The brand, which is imported by Spirits Marque One LLC, New York, will highlight in the new advertising campaign bold imagery that expresses the “possibilities that may unfold” with Svedka.