A few months ago August Busch III, the chairman and chief executive of Anheuser Busch [Budweiser], met Ferrari’s Jean Todt [of F-1 / Formula 1] to discuss a sponsorship deal between Ferrari and Budweiser, Anheuser Busch’s biggest brand. Grandprix.com heard at the time that an agreement was made, at least in principle for Budweiser to become a significant Ferrari sponsor, with the longterm aim being that the beer company would eventually take over from Marlboro when tobacco advertising ends in 2007. It seems that the deal has now falllen through and Budweiser has recently announced a three-year extension to its current deal in NASCAR with Dale Earnhardt Inc. This deal is believed to be worth $60m to the team although Budweiser will recoup much of that investment as it will take a percentage of the income raised by Dale Earnhardt Jr’s merchandising operations.( Grandprix.com )(6-2-2003)
