This Bud’s for U(SA)

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Anheuser-Busch, which on Monday agreed to sell itself to a Belgium-based brewer, earlier today re-enlisted as a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Financial terms of the new deal weren’t disclosed, but Anheuser-Busch said that its USOC contract now runs through 2012. St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch eventually will be swallowed up by InBev and the combination will create the world’s largest brewer.

Anheuser-Busch and its Budweiser beer brand have sponsored USOC and its teams for more than 20 years. That translates into 13 Summer and Winter Games. Budweiser also was the official beer sponsor of the Los Angeles Games in 1984.

‘No sporting event or property embraces the American passion for pure competition and athleticism like the U.S. Olympic Team and the Olympic Games,’ Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of global media said in today’s press release. ‘Budweiser is an American icon that is proud to support the U.S. Olympic Team as ambassadors to the world.’

Anheuser-Busch is the official international beer sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games. And it will be the only malt-based beverage manufacturer to advertise on NBC and its affiliated media outlets during Beijing Games broadcasts.

-- Greg Johnson