Apr 01, 2006 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Looking to power up its profits, Anheuser-Busch Cos. is talking with non-alcoholic beverage marketer Hansen Natural Corp. about a possible business partnership, according to trade newsletter Beverage Business Insights.Though better known for its line of natural sodas and juices, Corona, Calif.-based Hansen is the third-biggest seller of energy drinks, a fast-growing segment of the U.S. beverage market. Citing anonymous sources, the newsletter said the two companies have been swapping proposals for the last several months for a broad variety of potential collaborations, ranging from a distribution deal for Hansen products to a joint development of an alcoholic energy drink. A-B's outright acquisition of Hansen also wasn't off the table, said Beverage Business Insights, a publication of West Nyack, N.Y.-based Beer Marketer's Insights. A Hansen spokesman declined to comment on the report, while an Anheuser-Busch spokesman said it was the company's policy not to confirm, deny or speculate on such reports. Though the newsletter reported these talks Tuesday afternoon, Wall Street didn't react until Mark Swartzberg, a New York-based beverage analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., mentioned the story in his Friday morning research report, adding that his own inquiries led him to believe the conversations are taking place. The Stifel Nicolaus report also said the probability of an acquisition was low. The research report sent Hansen shares surging Friday. Hansen shares closed at $126.05, up $6.95, or 5.8 percent. Hansen markets and sells natural sodas, fruit juices, energy drinks, iced teas and other non-alcoholic beverages, contracting out production with third-parties. Among its brands are Monster Energy carbonated energy drinks, a beverage that has grown wildly. Hansen's net sales last year nearly doubled to $349 million due primarily to rocketing sales of the Monster brand. The country's most popular energy drink is Red Bull, produced by Austrian beverage company Red Bull GmbH, and the second-biggest seller by volume is PepsiCo Inc.'s SoBe drinks, according to London-based consumer market-research company Euromonitor International. The energy drink market isn't unfamiliar territory for the brewer. A-B introduced 180, an orange citrus-flavored, non-alcoholic energy drink, in 2001. A-B later added lower-calorie, lemon-lime-flavored 180 X3, the brand has had a small presence in the energy drink market. Euromonitor estimates the U.S. energy drink market will grow to $3 billion in 2008 from about $2.3 billion last year. By Gregory Cancelada To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. Copyright (c) 2006, St. Louis Post-Dispatch ************************************************** As of Friday, 03-31-2006 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend(SM) Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated a DOWNTREND on 07-22-2005 for HANS @ $93.12. (C) 2006 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved. | 
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