By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
ST. LOUIS – A bid by 10 beer consumers who sued to block InBev's now-completed takeover of U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch on antitrust grounds again has fallen flat.
A three-judge 8th U.S. Circuit Court panel on Wednesday upheld a federal judge's September 2009 ruling throwing out the lawsuit that claimed the 2008 merger would lessen competition and raise beer prices.
The lawsuit was filed in September 2008, just two months before Belgium-based InBev bought Budweiser-maker Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion with the goal of making the beer a global brand.
A message left with the company was not immediately returned.
It was not immediately clear if the plaintiffs planned to further appeal.