What Can Small Businesses Learn From World's Largest Beer Merger? (Watch)

Anheuser-Busch is in the midst of the largest beer merger in history. The company has been attempting to take over SABMiller, the maker of Miller Lite, for about a year now. And shareholders finally approved an offer this week.

It hasn't been an easy process, largely due to outside factors. Of course, with a takeover this big there are going to be some anti-trust issues. So the company had to make some concessions to appease governments from both the U.S. and China. In addition, the recent Brexit vote also had an impact. Since the vote changed the value of the pound, Anheuser-Busch had to go in with a higher offer to make up for it.

Of course, all of this has nothing to do with small business. Or does it? For small businesses, it's unlikely that you'll be a part of many deals or acquisitions that have anti-trust implications. But there could be other outside factors that have unexpected consequences or effects on your business dealings.

Business Negotiation Skills are Key

Closing deals beneficial to your business while appeasing partners and clients who are also negotiating for their own best interest is almost never a straightforward process. You have to be able to adapt to a number of different situations, many of which will be outside of your control. But the key is knowing your limits and how far you're willing to go to get the deal done. You might also have to demonstrate some extreme patience, just as Anheuser-Busch has had to do over the past year.

Anheuser-Busch Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "What Can Small Businesses Learn From World's Largest Beer Merger? (Watch)" was first published on Small Business Trends