AB InBev

In two thousand eight, Jorge Paulo Lemann's 3G Capital acquired Anheuser-Busch for fifty two billion dollars. It was the largest beer acquisition in history. But the real story wasn't the price tag. It was what happened the day after closing. Within hours, 3G's cost accountants were in every Anheuser-Busch facility with spreadsheets and calculators. 3G didn't cut a standard ten percent. They applied zero-based budgeting. Every expense was justified from scratch. Why did the brewery need that supervisor? Why that vendor? Why those perks in the executive cafeteria? If you couldn't articulate the exact return on every dollar spent, the dollar was eliminated.