ab11k.htm
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
11-K
FOR
ANNUAL REPORTS OF EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE, SAVINGS AND SIMILAR PLANS PURSUANT
TO
SECTION 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
|
(x)
|
Annual
report pursuant to Section 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of
1934
|
For
the Fiscal year ended March 31, 2007
OR
|
( )
|
Transition
report pursuant to Section 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of
1934
|
For
the
Transition period From ____________________
to ____________________
Commission
File Number ____________________
A. Full
title of the plan and the address of the plan, if different from that of the
issuer named below:
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
GLOBAL EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
B. Name
of issuer of the securities held pursuant to the plan and the address of its
principal executive office:
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
COMPANIES, INC.
One
Busch
Place
St.
Louis, Missouri 63118
REQUIRED
INFORMATION
|
A.
|
Financial
Statements and Exhibits
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm
Financial
Statements:
Statements
of Contributions and
Purchases by Participants
Notes
to Financial
Statements
B. Exhibits
23 Consent
of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Anheuser-Busch
Global
Employee
Stock
Purchase
Plan
Financial
Statements
March
31, 2007 and 2006
Anheuser-Busch
Global Employee
Stock
Purchase Plan
Index
March
31, 2007 and 2006
Page(s)
| |
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
1
|
| |
|
|
Statements
of Contributions and Purchases by Participants
|
2
|
| |
|
|
Notes
to Financial Statements
|
3-4
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the
Participants and Administrator
of
the
Anheuser-Busch Global Employee
Stock
Purchase Plan
In
our
opinion, the accompanying statements of contributions and purchases by
participants present fairly, in all material respects, the contributions and
purchases by participants of the Anheuser-Busch Global Employee Stock Purchase
Plan (the “Plan”) for the years ended March 31, 2007 and 2006, in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of
America. These financial statements are the responsibility of the
Plan’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on
these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our
audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards
require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing
the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management,
and
evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe
that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
St.
Louis, Missouri
June
6,
2007
1
Anheuser-Busch
Global
Employee
Stock
Purchase
Plan
Statements
of Contributions and Purchases by
Participants
For
the Years Ended March 31, 2007 and 2006
| |
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Contributions
by participants |
|
$ |
285,247
|
|
|
$ |
111,245
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Purchases
by participants |
|
|
(285,247 |
) |
|
|
(111,245 |
) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net activity |
|
$ |
0
|
|
|
$ |
0
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
2
Anheuser-Busch
Global
Employee
Stock
Purchase
Plan
Notes
to Financial Statements
The
following description of the Anheuser-Busch Global Employee Stock Purchase
Plan
(the “Plan”) is intended to give a general summary of its principal
provisions. Participants should
refer to the Plan document for more complete information.
Purpose
of the Plan
The
Plan
is an employee stock purchase plan designed to encourage ownership of shares
in
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (the “Company”) by permanent employees of the
Company and its subsidiaries located outside the United States. The Plan
commenced March 1, 1999.
Plan
Administration
The
Company administers the Plan. The Company has appointed Watson Wyatt Worldwide,
an international employee benefits consulting firm, to assist in plan
administration and record keeping. The Company has selected DB Alex.
Brown, a securities broker in the United States, as the Plan broker to hold
purchased shares on behalf of Plan participants. Neither of these
entities is related to the Company as an affiliate or subsidiary. The broker
maintains custody of all stock purchased by participants and is responsible
for
delivery of shares of stock sold by the participants, except as otherwise
directed by the participants.
Plan
Benefits
Under
the
Plan, participants enrolled in the plan during the enrollment period (March
1
–
March
19)
each year will be given the right to purchase up to 200 shares
of
the Company’s common stock at the offering price, which is fixed at the market
price on the United States business day prior to the offer date. The
offer date is generally March 1. Each year’s offer expires on the
third anniversary of the offer date.
If
shares
purchased through the Plan are held in the participant’s DB Alex. Brown account
for at least two years after the purchase date, the Company will award
additional shares at a rate ranging from 10% to 50% of shares
purchased depending upon business performance. The rate for
additional share awards will be determined and announced prior to the offer
date. These awards are made by the Company directly to the
employees. Under this provision, the Company awarded 711 shares in
fiscal 2007 and 1,641 shares in fiscal 2006.
All
contributions used to purchase shares must be accumulated in a local savings
account in the name of the participant through payroll
deductions. While withdrawals from the savings account can be made at
any time, deposits may only be made by payroll deductions. Previous
withdrawals cannot be replaced for the purposes of purchasing
shares. The participant maintains full ownership of the cash used to
purchase shares as well as the newly issued shares that are
purchased. Thus, there are no assets held by the Plan.
For
employees in the United Kingdom, the Plan has a sub-plan (Share Save Plan)
designed to qualify for favorable tax treatment for those employees who
participate. Under this “savings related share option scheme,”
employees enter into a three-year savings contract and are eligible to purchase
shares at the end of the three-year period.
3
Anheuser-Busch
Global
Employee
Stock
Purchase
Plan
Notes
to Financial Statements
Expenses
of the Plan
Under
the
Plan agreement, the Company may pay all expenses incurred in the administration
of the Plan, including custodial fees, but is not obligated to do
so. All expenses for the years ended March 31, 2007 and 2006 were
paid by the Company and are not reflected in the financial statements of the
Plan. If shares purchased under the Plan are subsequently sold by the
participant, the participant is responsible for all fees, commissions, and
other
costs incurred in such transactions.
| 2. |
Summary
of Significant Account Policies |
Basis
of Accounting
The
Plan’s financial statements are prepared on the accrual basis of
accounting.
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date
of
the financial statements and the reported amounts of additions to and deductions
from net assets during the reporting period. Actual results could
differ from those estimates.
Valuation
of the Company’s Stock
The
offering or purchase price of the Company’s common stock shares is
determined by the market price of the stock on the day prior to the offer date.
Market price is defined as the closing price of one share in the United States
as reported the subsequent day in the West Coast edition of The Wall Street
Journal, New York Stock Exchange Transactions-Composite
Transactions.
|
3.
|
Dividends
on Purchased Shares
|
Any
dividends paid on shares purchased under the Plan are retained by the respective
participants and will be reinvested in additional shares for the benefit of
the
participants unless the participant elects otherwise or the law requires
otherwise. Shares purchased with reinvested dividends are not
eligible for the additional share awards.
Where
required by law, the Company and its subsidiaries will report to the appropriate
governmental authority any amount subject to tax and social charges on account
of any offer, purchase or sale pursuant to the Plan. Participants are
responsible for all tax and social charge liabilities by means of withholding
from the participants’ current pay or other assets.
4
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the trustees (or other persons who administer
the employee benefit plan) have duly caused this annual report to be signed
by
the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
| |
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
GLOBAL EMPLOYEE
|
| |
STOCK
PURCHASE PLAN
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
James
G. Brickey
|
| |
Vice
President – Human Resources & Total
Rewards
|
June
26,
2007
5