It's happy hour in Belgium.

After weeks of negotiations, the Belgian brewer InBev has agreed to acquire Anheuser-Busch for $70 per share in cash, or $52 billion. The boards of both companies have approved the merger.

The deal creates the world's biggest brewer, bringing brand names including Budweiser, Michelob, Stella Artois, and Bass under one owner.

The new company will be named Anheuser-Busch InBev. August Busch and one other Anheuser executive will join the board of the new company.

After facing resistance from the St. Louis-based Budweiser owner following its initial offer in June, InBev raised its purchase price by $5 per share.

The deal also puts an end to one of the longest-running family-owned American companies. The Budweiser owner was established more than 150 years ago.

There is a compelling strategic logic to this deal. Big brewers are wrestling with slowing markets in North America and Europe and rising commodity prices. The merger of Anheuser and InBev will give the combined company greater economies of scale with virtually no overlap in markets.

"This is truly one of those win-win situations where everyone should be pleased as punch," Tom Pirko, president of the consulting firm Bevmark, told the St. Louis Dispatch. InBev C.E.O. Carlos Brito "got what he wanted—took down the big prize. And (Anheuser-Busch) shareholders got a major premium that would have been in doubt for a long time to come."

The paper also notes that the combined company will produce 392 million barrels of beer per year, which is about 60 percent more than is made by the now No. 2 brewer, SABMiller.