Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican presidential candidate, delivers remarks at the annual Christians United for Israel Summit (CUFI) at the Crystal Gateway Marriott on July 17, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia.
Kevin Worm | Reuters
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked his administration to investigate whether Bud Light’s parent company breached its duties to shareholders as conservative backlash continues over the beer brand’s deal with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, directed State Board of Administration Interim Executive Director Lamar Taylor to “immediately review how AB InBev’s conduct has affected and continues to affect SBA’s value.” AB in Bio Holdings.”
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“It appears to me that AB InBev has breached the statutory duties owed to its shareholders, and that shareholder action may be both appropriate and necessary,” DeSantis wrote in a letter tweeted Friday.
“All options are on the table,” he added.
Shares of AB InBev are down about 2% this year, while the broader market is up. InBev did not immediately respond to a request for comment on DeSantis’ letter.
Bud Light’s sales have fallen as a result of conservative unrest and boycotts over the Mulvaney partnership. Last month, the beer lost its top spot in the US beer market. Nakshatra BrandsModelo Special, which accounts for 8.7 percent of total beer sales, while Bud Light has 7 percent, according to data shared by consulting firm Bump Williams.
The firm also found that Bud Light sales were down about 25 percent from last year. Amid the boycott, the company’s shares fell from $66 to $58 per share. Florida owns $53 million worth of stock in AB InBev, DeSantis said.
DeSantis suggested that the investigation could lead to lawsuits on behalf of shareholders of Florida pension funds. “At the end of the day, there are penalties when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday night.
The governor accused the company of neglecting its stakeholders and pensioners by indulging in “radical social ideologies”.
DeSantis oversees the state board as a trustee along with the state’s Republican attorney general and chief financial officer.
The move against Bud Light marks the latest example of DeSantis jumping into controversy and flexing his political powers over a hot-button social issue.
is locked in a bitter feud with the Governor Disney, one of his state’s top employers, more than a year after the company criticized Florida’s controversial bill limiting classroom discussion of gender identity. Disney filed a federal lawsuit accusing DeSantis and his allies of political retaliation for the conflict over the classroom bill.
DeSantis, seen as former President Donald Trump’s biggest Republican primary challenger, has continued his attacks on the campaign trail against Disney and other institutions that he believes are “reawakening” progressive political ideology.
“We must carefully manage the funds of Florida’s hard-working law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters, and first responders in a way that focuses on increasing profits, not subsidizing ideological agendas through whack-a-mole signaling,” he wrote in the letter to Taylor.
DeSantis trails Trump by double digits in most national polls in the GOP primary race. Less than two months after entering the race, the governor’s campaign is planning a relaunch. NBC News reported on Thursday.
Mulvaney has criticized Bud Light for not standing by him during the boycott. She said she was harassed and intimidated because she became the face of the controversy.
“For months now I’ve been afraid to leave my house, I’ve been ridiculed in public, I’ve been followed, and I’ve felt an isolation I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Mulvaney said. said last month.
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Source by [CNBC News]