Higher prices due from Anheuser-Busch

ST. LOUIS, June 28 (UPI) -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. plans to hike the cost of its beers as part of an attempt to bolster the company, a source close to the St. Louis brewery says.

The unidentified source said following a take-over attempt by European rival InBev NV, Anheuser officials created a plan aimed at increasing the company's share price to $62 through cost savings and job cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

"There's nothing they are offering that we can't do ourselves," the source said. "They're trying to push people into a corner."

While the brewer is aiming to institute $500 million in savings and cut nearly 1,000 jobs, its actions may not deter InBev's $46.35 billion take-over bid.

The rival company may simply take its aggressive business strategy to Anheuser shareholders in an attempt to gain control of the dominant U.S. brewer, the Journal said.

The business publication said investors in the company are split regarding Anheuser's reactionary plan with some suggesting the business moves will do little to boost company shares in the industry's struggling marketplace.