Tony Ponturo, vice president of Global Media and Sports Marketing for Anheuser-Busch, and as president and CEO of Busch Media Group, Inc., was in the Capital last week to hold high-level discussions about them joining Lloyds TSB as a tier-one sponsor for 2012.

 

Industry sources have told insidethegames that a multi-million deal has almost now be completed, as was first reported in our newsletter on April 23.

 

Budweiser has been an Olympic supporter since 1984 when the brand was the official beer sponsor of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

 

Budweiser was also the official beer sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and 2006 in Turin.

 

Last year it also agreed a unique deal with the organisers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics whereby it became the "international beer sponsor" while Beijing's Yanjing Brewery Co Ltd has been selected as the official domestic beer sponsor.

 

The Olympics in Britian already has close links with Budweiser as Anheuser-Busch, the parent company which is the world's second biggest brewer, is a partner of the British Olympic Association and will back Team GB at next year's Beijing Olympics through its Michelob Ultra brand.

 

In addition, Anheuser-Busch's brands also serve as official beer sponsors of the United States Olympic Committee, recently extending its support of the US team through 2008 in a deal that also it become the exclusive malt-beverage advertiser for all Olympic Games television coverage in the US.

 

It also has a sponsorship deal with the Mexican Olympic Committee.

 

A beer sponsor was not among the original eight tier-one categories announced by LOCOG but it is now set to be one of two new sponsors announced during the next few weeks.

 

Other companies LOCOG are deep into discussions with include BT and EDF Energy.