Anheuser-Busch Attempting To Purchase Cigar City Brewing

Cigar City Founder and owner Joey Redner on Friday confirmed that the beer company’s representatives have reached out to him about buying his Tampa-based business.

Anheuser-Busch has a long history in the Tampa Bay area, having once operated a brewery and the Busch Gardens theme park here. The brewery closed in 1995, and the beer maker sold the park to investors in 2009.

“We have been approached about having a more in-depth meeting,” Redner said in an email, without getting into detail. “There hasn’t been a second meeting.”

An Anheuser-Busch spokesman declined comment, saying the company does not discuss its merger and acquisition strategy.