AB InBev, U.S. Denied Bid for Feb. 15 Scheduling Hearing

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and the U.S. lost a bid for a Feb. 15 scheduling hearing in the government’s lawsuit to block the brewer’s $20.1 billion takeover of Grupo Modelo SAB because other parties have asked to enter the case.

U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts today said requests by Constellation Brands Inc. and Crown Imports LLC, which imports Modelo’s brands in the U.S., to intervene in the suit haven’t received a response from the government.

“Because two additional entities have filed a motion to intervene to which the plaintiff has not yet responded, and the defendants have not yet responded to the complaint, it is hereby ordered that the joint motion for a scheduling conference be, and hereby is, denied,” Roberts wrote.

Roberts hasn’t ruled on the requests by Constellation and Crown to enter the proceedings.

The case is U.S. v. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, 13-cv- 00127, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Forden in Washington at sforden@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net