DeSantis asks state to investigate AB InBev for failing shareholders by pushing ‘radical social ideologies’
DeSantis speculated that AB InBev's enthusiasm for 'radical social ideologies' at the expense of sales may have legal consequence
We’re launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev: Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shares how he plans to take on Bud Light on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking the head of the State Board of Administration (SBA) to review its holdings of AB InBev, citing the ongoing decline of its subsidiary company Bud Light.
In a letter sent to SBA Executive Director Lamar Taylor, DeSantis speculated that AB InBev may have "breached legal duties" to its shareholders by partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney and pushing "radical social ideologies."
"It has come to my attention that the State Board of Administration (SBA) currently holds global equity assets with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev)," the governor wrote in the Thursday letter. "As you well know, AB InBev's performance has plummeted since its decision to associate its Bud Light brand with radical social ideologies. That fateful decision has transformed America's formerly best-selling beer — and one of InBev's best-performing assets — into a commercial pariah. InBev's losses have been staggering."
CORONA LIGHT, COORS LIGHT GAIN TRACTION OVER BUD LIGHT
Bud Light on sale for $19.99 at Shaw's in Nashua, New Hampshire. (Alexa Moutevelis/Fox News Digital / Fox News)
Data from Evercore ISI shows that in the 12-week period leading up to July 2, Bud Light’s sales volume fell by 27.1% over that timeframe – which includes much of the aftermath following Mulvaney’s early April social media post showing the custom can Bud Light provided her with.
In that same period, rival light beers saw sales rise. Coors Light's sales volume rose by 17.8%, while Miller Lite’s increased by 14.3% and Corona Light’s ticked up by 3%.
The fallout from the Bud Light controversy has spilled over into other Anheuser-Busch InBev beers which have also suffered from sales declines.
In the letter, DeSantis instructed Taylor to investigate the state's financial ties to AB InBev and reach a conclusion on whether the SBA has grounds to pursue legal action against the company for negligence towards its shareholders.
"Clearly, the Board's management — as well as its failure to remediate the problem and repair its relationship with millions of disaffected American consumers — has led to this impasse and will continue to financially harm the SBA and other shareholders," DeSantis wrote.
"Our legal commitments and obligations, however, remain perfectly clear: we must prudently manage the funds of Florida’s hardworking law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters and first responders in a manner that focuses on growing returns, not subsidizing an ideological agenda through woke virtue signaling," DeSantis continued.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, and Casey DeSantis, Florida's first lady, left, attend an Independence Day parade. (Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
DeSantis discussed the letter in an interview on Fox News's "Jesse Watters Primetime."
"We talk about woke corporations and a lot of times we focus on, understandably, how they're trying to change society, get involved in politics, and we fight back against that," DeSantis told Watters. "We did that against Disney and others, and that's important."
He continued, "But the flip side of it is — just as you suggest — when you start pursuing a political agenda at the expense of your shareholders, that's not just impacting very wealthy people. It impacts hardworking people who were police officers, firefighters and teachers in terms of their pension."
The SBA manages investment portfolios tied to state employees, retirement accounts, disaster relief funds and more.